What a blessing this past Sunday was, in preparation for going to Kenya and in seeking to raise the necessary funds I spoke at Sparta UM Church. I've been looking forward to this opportunity for about a month and hoping that God would help me know what to say and how to introduce myself to a church that had never heard of me. I told my former roommate that I had to figure out how to be memorable in 5 minutes or less.
I decided to keep my "speech" simple, count on having a good display with memorable pieces of Kenya and some of my past video projects playing. Also I knew that one of my videos would be shown in the service as I was tag-teaming with the founder of the ministry I had created it for.
Saturday night as I was getting ready for bed rather than asking God to bless me by getting all my funds and making me more memorable than other ministries represented at the missions fair and so funding me and not them, I asked that He would be glorified first and foremost. I asked that all the ministries represented would be blessed and encouraged and that the congregation would be blessed as well.
Sunday morning I arrived at the church and felt instantly welcome, the first couple I met helped me find my way around the building, find the Pastor (who used to pastor at my home church and is the only person I knew at this church), and where I would be setting up my display. As I set up my display I met several other wonderful and helpful members of the congregation.
During the service the Holy Spirit was at work and I sensed that God was pouring a blessing on everyone in attendance. One couple got up and shared with the church how they had just that week seen God provide for a gift toward the missions fund and he had come through. Soon it was time for the other speaker and I to share. Before we spoke Pastor Ray introduced us each and truly humbled me in telling the church about the impact that my family had had on his life and about my heart to serve. It's hard to write about this and not feel like I'm tooting my horn so just know I was greatly blessed at that moment. Jesus also granted me calm nerves as I shared with the church, and the congregation was very responsive. When I finished we watched part of the video and then Pastor Ray got up and challenged the congregation that at least 17 people should take up support in me, now that's seventeen because I had announced that I needed 18 but Pastor Ray followed up by announcing that I could count on him to take a share.
A few minutes later I was back by my display table and several members of the congregation came to talk with me for a few moments and took letters and information on how to support me. Not only was I being blessed by the fellowship, but I was greatly encouraged by the interest in supporting me.
Once the congregation cleared out and I got my stuff put away I went out to lunch with the pastor and his wife and the missions coordinators. I expected this to just be a nice time to sit, eat, and fellowship, but Pastor Ray brought along the extra copies of my letter that I gave him. This wasn't simply because his coat pocket was a convenient place to keep them but so that he could give copies to the restaurant owner and several of the customers whom he knew. As we were eating he would periodically get up and I'd see him pointing me out to some one and handing them a letter.
Driving home that afternoon I realized that God had given me precisely what I had asked for. I could tell from the service and the responses afterword that the congregation was excited about their involvement in missions and that those ministries represented were greatly encouraged. But then God went above and beyond that (as He is known to do) and blessed me specifically with great amounts of encouragement and what will probably turn out to be a great shower of new support. Since I get my weekly support updates on Tuesdays there hadn't been enough time between Sunday and my most recent update for it to show any support from that service, but I believe that next weeks update will be very exciting.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Two Thirds Down!!!
I am very excited to announce that I have raised over 60% of my required funds! It has been truly amazing to see your gifts come in from all over the country and to know that there are so many people praying for me and believing in this ministry.
Lately, I have been even more convinced of my calling into video ministry as I have been working on a project here in Michigan. Back in the early spring my former pastor connected me with Chaplain Kurt Glover. Kurt has been working hard since the fall of 2007 to start a ministry designed to reach out to men and women who have recently been released from prison. Kurt’s ministry, Certification for the Incarcerated (CFTI), helps to provide training and education to assist ex-offenders in getting decent jobs and turn their lives around. Over the past several months I have been producing a video that will help others understand the goals and intentions of the ministry and how it is already changing lives.
This project is quite similar to what I will be doing in Kenya, helping missionaries tell churches and supporters how God has been putting their gifts to good work. As I’ve been working on this project and fund raising at the same time, I’ve been thinking about my calling and what I can relate it to in the Bible. I’ve come to realize that my ministry is similar to two disciples of John the Baptist as mentioned in Luke 7:18-23. John’s disciples came and visited him in Prison and told him how Jesus was preaching and performing miracles. For an unspecified reason, John had a small moment of doubt and so sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask if He was the Christ. The names of these disciples are not given and we know almost nothing about them except that they were entrusted to carry messages between John the Baptist and Jesus. When these men asked if he was the Christ, Jesus had them observe Him for a time as He “cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.” (Vs.21 NIV) Then rather than answering John’s question with a simple “yes” he told the disciples to go back and give their own testimony of what they had seen. The Bible keeps the focus of the story on Jesus after that point but I’m sure that the two disciples returned to John simply ecstatic about what they had seen and eager to share the news with him.
So how do John’s disciples relate to my life? Well let’s look at my most recent project, the CFTI video mentioned earlier. I have to admit that I had trouble getting a handle on how this was going to look until we fi nally began shooting, and I met some of Kurt’s students, and heard their stories. Having seen some of the fruits of Kurt’s labor, I was excited to share that knowledge with others. So, like John’s disciples, I see myself as merely a messenger who is privileged to witness the work of Christ and document it.
In closing, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your sacrifices and your gifts helping me come so far towards my goal for this trip. I am still planning to leave as soon as possible and am searching for additional supporters to help make this a reality. I need just twenty seven people or groups to pledge to support me with $20 a month and I’ll be on my way to Kenya. Will you pray that these twenty nine people will come forward soon and agree to support me? Or will you be one of these twenty seven to help me get on my way to Kenya to assist others in telling their stories?
Lately, I have been even more convinced of my calling into video ministry as I have been working on a project here in Michigan. Back in the early spring my former pastor connected me with Chaplain Kurt Glover. Kurt has been working hard since the fall of 2007 to start a ministry designed to reach out to men and women who have recently been released from prison. Kurt’s ministry, Certification for the Incarcerated (CFTI), helps to provide training and education to assist ex-offenders in getting decent jobs and turn their lives around. Over the past several months I have been producing a video that will help others understand the goals and intentions of the ministry and how it is already changing lives.
This project is quite similar to what I will be doing in Kenya, helping missionaries tell churches and supporters how God has been putting their gifts to good work. As I’ve been working on this project and fund raising at the same time, I’ve been thinking about my calling and what I can relate it to in the Bible. I’ve come to realize that my ministry is similar to two disciples of John the Baptist as mentioned in Luke 7:18-23. John’s disciples came and visited him in Prison and told him how Jesus was preaching and performing miracles. For an unspecified reason, John had a small moment of doubt and so sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask if He was the Christ. The names of these disciples are not given and we know almost nothing about them except that they were entrusted to carry messages between John the Baptist and Jesus. When these men asked if he was the Christ, Jesus had them observe Him for a time as He “cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.” (Vs.21 NIV) Then rather than answering John’s question with a simple “yes” he told the disciples to go back and give their own testimony of what they had seen. The Bible keeps the focus of the story on Jesus after that point but I’m sure that the two disciples returned to John simply ecstatic about what they had seen and eager to share the news with him.
So how do John’s disciples relate to my life? Well let’s look at my most recent project, the CFTI video mentioned earlier. I have to admit that I had trouble getting a handle on how this was going to look until we fi nally began shooting, and I met some of Kurt’s students, and heard their stories. Having seen some of the fruits of Kurt’s labor, I was excited to share that knowledge with others. So, like John’s disciples, I see myself as merely a messenger who is privileged to witness the work of Christ and document it.
In closing, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your sacrifices and your gifts helping me come so far towards my goal for this trip. I am still planning to leave as soon as possible and am searching for additional supporters to help make this a reality. I need just twenty seven people or groups to pledge to support me with $20 a month and I’ll be on my way to Kenya. Will you pray that these twenty nine people will come forward soon and agree to support me? Or will you be one of these twenty seven to help me get on my way to Kenya to assist others in telling their stories?
Monday, August 18, 2008
Influential Films
Ok so I'm bad at keeping up with my blog, the truth is I don't feel that I have a lot to write about. A quick Kenya update, as promised, I'm hoping to leave in the early fall, I right now am nearing the 1/2 way point of being fully funded. But you my dear blog readers want something with some substance yes? Well here's an email I just wrote to my favorite podcast Filmspotting. I have no idea if they'll be interested in this or will have time to incorporate it into the show so I'm posting here to make sure all my long blabbing and writting doesn't go completely to waste. So with out further ado...
Hey Adam and Matty,Love the show, and just wanted to try and make a small contribution on the programming side. I had an idea for a top five that I think you may enjoy, it's "the top 5 movies that got you into your profession." What I mean is that these are the movies that influenced you to study film in school or showed you how to look beyond dazzling effects to see a story and to analyze how well that story is told, or whatever criteria you require. An example of what I'm talking about is the olympic sprinter for team USA who is a former "Lost Boy of Sudan." The first thing he ever saw on TV was Michael Johnson sprinting in the Olympics in 1996 and he decided he wanted to be fast like that. Now he is representing USA in the same events. Obviously this is a TV influence and not film but it was a good current example.Now I can not make this suggestion with out giving my own top five influences so here they are...As a set up, I have done these pretty much in order of when I first saw them and they impacted my life so #5 is the most recent and #1 is the oldest. This seemed like a logical order as each new film built upon the influence laid down by those before it. Also I should note that I am a videographer, working mostly with Churches and missionaries to help them tell stories of their various ministries.1) Three way tie, sort of, the entire Star Wars Classic Trilogy. I know the original is in the pantheon but that was the movie that made me love movies. Jedi kept me coming back to the series, as a kid I loved the Ewoks and now the face off between Luke and Vader is my favorite moment in the series. But of course what is Jedi with out Empire? The drama of Luke standing up to his Father is nothing if you don't know that relationship. In my mind these 3 films are just one big mother film and can't be split up.
2)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & TMNT2; The Secret of the Ooze. Probably I'm the first person to mention these in any relation to Filmspotting, but as a second and third grader I was introduced to the Heros in a Half Shell in the TV cartoons, Video Games, and the films. Having lived most of my life to that point and beyond until 2001 on a missionary station in Kenya this was the first chance my brother and I had to really collect action figures. For the rest of my grade school years the Ninja Turtles were my favorite toys and eventually our love of the turtles led us to getting out dad's VHS camera and shooting full films. The influence of the movies is most obviously seen in the repeated plot device that we always had a few characters kidnapped by The Shredder. As for enjoying the films in themselves, I still love the TMNT characters and the stories, the second one doesn't quite hold up anymore which is sad because as a kid that was my favorite, but I still get siked to hear Vanilla Ice sing "Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!"
3) The God's Must Be Crazy; again I'm probably the first to mention this cult classic South African comedy on Filmspotting but it has a 2 fold purpose in my life. First this film along with National Geographic specials opened my eyes to the beauty that surrouded me growing up in Kenya. Wildlife, the plains, and the great African rains were things I took for granted until I started really looking at it through the eyes of the film makers. These came along for me just at the time I was beginning to take pictures myself with my parents cameras and even my first camera. They inspired me to want to take the best pictures I could. The other roll that the God's Must Be Crazy filled was less influential, but it's my introduction to slap-stick comedy out side of cartoons like Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner. This movie was the first time in live action I saw someone fall down repeatedly and I laugh my face off to it to this day!
4) A Few Good Men; I can't remember how old I was when I first saw this movie, but definitely too young to understand 1/2 of what was going on. It was probably the first courtroom drama I ever saw and is still probably my favorite. What got me about this movie even at my early age was the story. 2 guys on trial for murder because they were doing what they were told, will they make it out alive. Unlike most of my favorite movies to that point this movie had no action besides the actual murder scene at the beginning. For the first time in my life I knew how a movie could be good with out any swords or hand to hand combat or guns.
5) Schindler's List; Was way too young to see this when it came out in '93, and finally got my first chance to see it some time in '97 I think as a 9th grader. I remember I had reservations about this movie becuase I had heard it was in black and white, but it didn't take long for me to forget that the color was missing. This film sucked me right in. I remember the first time I saw it it was also a severly re-edited version cut down by staff members at my missionary boarding school. But even with all the nudity and some of the violence cut out the movie knocked me over with the story and my first understanding of the atrocities committed by the Nazis. This was the movie that made me want my future film (now video) projects and this in conjunction with Saving Private Ryan had me saying I wanted to be Steven Spielberg when I graduated high school.
Obviously my asperations have changed somewhat as I no longer plan to really move into film and just want to make great small video projects, but the influences of these films still sticks with me.
Hey Adam and Matty,Love the show, and just wanted to try and make a small contribution on the programming side. I had an idea for a top five that I think you may enjoy, it's "the top 5 movies that got you into your profession." What I mean is that these are the movies that influenced you to study film in school or showed you how to look beyond dazzling effects to see a story and to analyze how well that story is told, or whatever criteria you require. An example of what I'm talking about is the olympic sprinter for team USA who is a former "Lost Boy of Sudan." The first thing he ever saw on TV was Michael Johnson sprinting in the Olympics in 1996 and he decided he wanted to be fast like that. Now he is representing USA in the same events. Obviously this is a TV influence and not film but it was a good current example.Now I can not make this suggestion with out giving my own top five influences so here they are...As a set up, I have done these pretty much in order of when I first saw them and they impacted my life so #5 is the most recent and #1 is the oldest. This seemed like a logical order as each new film built upon the influence laid down by those before it. Also I should note that I am a videographer, working mostly with Churches and missionaries to help them tell stories of their various ministries.1) Three way tie, sort of, the entire Star Wars Classic Trilogy. I know the original is in the pantheon but that was the movie that made me love movies. Jedi kept me coming back to the series, as a kid I loved the Ewoks and now the face off between Luke and Vader is my favorite moment in the series. But of course what is Jedi with out Empire? The drama of Luke standing up to his Father is nothing if you don't know that relationship. In my mind these 3 films are just one big mother film and can't be split up.
2)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & TMNT2; The Secret of the Ooze. Probably I'm the first person to mention these in any relation to Filmspotting, but as a second and third grader I was introduced to the Heros in a Half Shell in the TV cartoons, Video Games, and the films. Having lived most of my life to that point and beyond until 2001 on a missionary station in Kenya this was the first chance my brother and I had to really collect action figures. For the rest of my grade school years the Ninja Turtles were my favorite toys and eventually our love of the turtles led us to getting out dad's VHS camera and shooting full films. The influence of the movies is most obviously seen in the repeated plot device that we always had a few characters kidnapped by The Shredder. As for enjoying the films in themselves, I still love the TMNT characters and the stories, the second one doesn't quite hold up anymore which is sad because as a kid that was my favorite, but I still get siked to hear Vanilla Ice sing "Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!"
3) The God's Must Be Crazy; again I'm probably the first to mention this cult classic South African comedy on Filmspotting but it has a 2 fold purpose in my life. First this film along with National Geographic specials opened my eyes to the beauty that surrouded me growing up in Kenya. Wildlife, the plains, and the great African rains were things I took for granted until I started really looking at it through the eyes of the film makers. These came along for me just at the time I was beginning to take pictures myself with my parents cameras and even my first camera. They inspired me to want to take the best pictures I could. The other roll that the God's Must Be Crazy filled was less influential, but it's my introduction to slap-stick comedy out side of cartoons like Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner. This movie was the first time in live action I saw someone fall down repeatedly and I laugh my face off to it to this day!
4) A Few Good Men; I can't remember how old I was when I first saw this movie, but definitely too young to understand 1/2 of what was going on. It was probably the first courtroom drama I ever saw and is still probably my favorite. What got me about this movie even at my early age was the story. 2 guys on trial for murder because they were doing what they were told, will they make it out alive. Unlike most of my favorite movies to that point this movie had no action besides the actual murder scene at the beginning. For the first time in my life I knew how a movie could be good with out any swords or hand to hand combat or guns.
5) Schindler's List; Was way too young to see this when it came out in '93, and finally got my first chance to see it some time in '97 I think as a 9th grader. I remember I had reservations about this movie becuase I had heard it was in black and white, but it didn't take long for me to forget that the color was missing. This film sucked me right in. I remember the first time I saw it it was also a severly re-edited version cut down by staff members at my missionary boarding school. But even with all the nudity and some of the violence cut out the movie knocked me over with the story and my first understanding of the atrocities committed by the Nazis. This was the movie that made me want my future film (now video) projects and this in conjunction with Saving Private Ryan had me saying I wanted to be Steven Spielberg when I graduated high school.
Obviously my asperations have changed somewhat as I no longer plan to really move into film and just want to make great small video projects, but the influences of these films still sticks with me.
Monday, July 14, 2008
I Can Hear Me Singing to Me in My Sleep
Let me start by thanking those who routinely check this site even though I'm terrible at posting. Waffle this is for you, I'll try to do better.
I'm not sure there's a lot to take away from this. It's kind of just a neat story at this point. There may be more if I were to explain the whole back story, but that's not going to happen, suffice to say for those who know of my Kenya plans this does not affect them, it's a completely separate issue.
Have you ever had a night where you were exhausted and new you NEEDED to sleep, but as soon as you went to lay your head down some thought bursts into your head and you're suddenly overwhelmed with ideas and mental struggles that need to be sorted out? I'm sure you have.
For me last night was one such occasion, something wonderful and terrible happened that I won't really get into because to do it justice you would still be reading this in February. The summation is that I had spent all day Sunday in a car and thought I had worked through this thing, but Sunday night as I went to go to bed, it hit me for real. I put a pair of sandals on and grabbed a long sleeve shirt and went for a walk at 11:30 PM. As I walked down our dirt driveway talking to God I looked at the moon and addressed it as Him. Through that walk I talked out my frustrations, saw God create some amazing analogies about His love and presence in my life through the moon, the road, and some fireflies. The moon became a representation of God, I looked at it, I was humbled by it and it was showing me the way. The road became like my life, or what I want my life to be, a long straight path that was aimed directly at the moon. The fireflies reminded me of what I was struggling with.
At one point in this journey I thought I was settled and ready to go back to bed, the only problem was I was a ways up the road. By the time I had gotten mostly back to the house I was all worked up again and had to turn back around. Thankfully, it didn't take me as long this time to remind my self of what God was trying to say to me, "You are not alone, I will direct your path, that which you've been desiring is a part of my creation which is supposed to help you worship and glorify me."
So one again I got the message, but now as I turned to go to bed how was I going to keep that perspective in my head. One idea came to mind, a chorus...
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face,
And the things of Earth
Will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.
This chorus ran through my head and I began to sing it repeatedly. Not only did the task keep my mind mostly occupied, but the words held everything that God was trying to teach me. As I walked back singing only a few thoughts made it through my mind, the first was "wouldn't it be cool if the fireflies were dimmed," I turned and looked to see that they were out completely. I sang a little louder. My next thought was a bit of a downer, "how am I going to keep this singing going and fall asleep?" It was a bit strange, but I knew I had to try and sing myself to sleep.
Let me tell you it's a difficult task but the trick to to know when you need to stop singing so you can drift off and when you need to pick the singing back up so you don't run away with your thoughts.
Now I'm stuck trying to figure out how to close this. I suppose we could all join hands and sing the song a few thousand times. But rather than that (it's a logistical nightmare) just remember the words and the message, God loves you and if you seek him whole heartedly not only will you find him, but you'll find that everything else pales in comparison.
Thanks again for reading, I hope to put a Kenya update real soon...
I'm not sure there's a lot to take away from this. It's kind of just a neat story at this point. There may be more if I were to explain the whole back story, but that's not going to happen, suffice to say for those who know of my Kenya plans this does not affect them, it's a completely separate issue.
Have you ever had a night where you were exhausted and new you NEEDED to sleep, but as soon as you went to lay your head down some thought bursts into your head and you're suddenly overwhelmed with ideas and mental struggles that need to be sorted out? I'm sure you have.
For me last night was one such occasion, something wonderful and terrible happened that I won't really get into because to do it justice you would still be reading this in February. The summation is that I had spent all day Sunday in a car and thought I had worked through this thing, but Sunday night as I went to go to bed, it hit me for real. I put a pair of sandals on and grabbed a long sleeve shirt and went for a walk at 11:30 PM. As I walked down our dirt driveway talking to God I looked at the moon and addressed it as Him. Through that walk I talked out my frustrations, saw God create some amazing analogies about His love and presence in my life through the moon, the road, and some fireflies. The moon became a representation of God, I looked at it, I was humbled by it and it was showing me the way. The road became like my life, or what I want my life to be, a long straight path that was aimed directly at the moon. The fireflies reminded me of what I was struggling with.
At one point in this journey I thought I was settled and ready to go back to bed, the only problem was I was a ways up the road. By the time I had gotten mostly back to the house I was all worked up again and had to turn back around. Thankfully, it didn't take me as long this time to remind my self of what God was trying to say to me, "You are not alone, I will direct your path, that which you've been desiring is a part of my creation which is supposed to help you worship and glorify me."
So one again I got the message, but now as I turned to go to bed how was I going to keep that perspective in my head. One idea came to mind, a chorus...
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face,
And the things of Earth
Will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.
This chorus ran through my head and I began to sing it repeatedly. Not only did the task keep my mind mostly occupied, but the words held everything that God was trying to teach me. As I walked back singing only a few thoughts made it through my mind, the first was "wouldn't it be cool if the fireflies were dimmed," I turned and looked to see that they were out completely. I sang a little louder. My next thought was a bit of a downer, "how am I going to keep this singing going and fall asleep?" It was a bit strange, but I knew I had to try and sing myself to sleep.
Let me tell you it's a difficult task but the trick to to know when you need to stop singing so you can drift off and when you need to pick the singing back up so you don't run away with your thoughts.
Now I'm stuck trying to figure out how to close this. I suppose we could all join hands and sing the song a few thousand times. But rather than that (it's a logistical nightmare) just remember the words and the message, God loves you and if you seek him whole heartedly not only will you find him, but you'll find that everything else pales in comparison.
Thanks again for reading, I hope to put a Kenya update real soon...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Christmas Blessings
Well this doesn't have much to do with my VIA process, but God was good to our family this past Chistmas and I just have to share it.
The story starts way back at Labor day in Sept. On the Friday before Laborday my dad was let go from his job. In the months since he has been looking for a new job and gemerally met little success. Thankfully he was able to start collecting unemployment checks when he was let go. However, right about Thanksgiving he recieved notice from unemployment that he would no longer be elligible and in fact would have to pay back $1,000! Suddenly money seemed very tight at our house and with Christmas just around the corner it looked as though the only gifts we'd have would be fellowship with each other. Don't get me wrong that's a wonderful blessing in it's self and of course presents under a tree aren't the real reason for Christmas anyway, but they seem a nice way to Celebrate Christ.
On Dec. 15 my brother graduated from College in Arkansas and so Mom, Dad, and I made plans to attend the ceremony, not really sure how we could afford the trip. We were to leave on Dec. 14 for the 12 hour drive, on the evening of the 12th I heard mom telling dad about several bills they had to pay and how that would leave them with only like $80 in their checking account. But on Dec. 13 the first of several blessings came dad recieved word that Unemployment would resume paying him, we did not owe them the $1,000 and in fact they were going to pay him $1,500 back pay for the weeks he hadn't recieved a check! Praise God!
The next day we set out for Arkansas early in the morning. As dad was filling the car with gas mom pulled out some Christmas cards she had picked up at our church. As I slept in the back she opened the first one and started saying "oh my goodness!" over and over. Waking up to see what the commotion was about I saw her holing up 4 crisp $100 bills, an anonymous gift from someone in our church. Filled with joy and thankfulness for God's blessings she opened the next card only to find that God wasn't done yet. This card contained a note "I hear there is a family trip that involves a lot of travel in the works, hope this helps." this card was not signed either, but contained another $300!
Thanks to all of these blessings from God and those around us, we had a wonderful trip to Arkansas, and were able to have a wonderful Christmas. We were each able to give and recieve gifts to show our love for each other and reflect on the gifts God had given us, both in the past few weeks and 2.000 years ago when his Son came to live as a man.
The story starts way back at Labor day in Sept. On the Friday before Laborday my dad was let go from his job. In the months since he has been looking for a new job and gemerally met little success. Thankfully he was able to start collecting unemployment checks when he was let go. However, right about Thanksgiving he recieved notice from unemployment that he would no longer be elligible and in fact would have to pay back $1,000! Suddenly money seemed very tight at our house and with Christmas just around the corner it looked as though the only gifts we'd have would be fellowship with each other. Don't get me wrong that's a wonderful blessing in it's self and of course presents under a tree aren't the real reason for Christmas anyway, but they seem a nice way to Celebrate Christ.
On Dec. 15 my brother graduated from College in Arkansas and so Mom, Dad, and I made plans to attend the ceremony, not really sure how we could afford the trip. We were to leave on Dec. 14 for the 12 hour drive, on the evening of the 12th I heard mom telling dad about several bills they had to pay and how that would leave them with only like $80 in their checking account. But on Dec. 13 the first of several blessings came dad recieved word that Unemployment would resume paying him, we did not owe them the $1,000 and in fact they were going to pay him $1,500 back pay for the weeks he hadn't recieved a check! Praise God!
The next day we set out for Arkansas early in the morning. As dad was filling the car with gas mom pulled out some Christmas cards she had picked up at our church. As I slept in the back she opened the first one and started saying "oh my goodness!" over and over. Waking up to see what the commotion was about I saw her holing up 4 crisp $100 bills, an anonymous gift from someone in our church. Filled with joy and thankfulness for God's blessings she opened the next card only to find that God wasn't done yet. This card contained a note "I hear there is a family trip that involves a lot of travel in the works, hope this helps." this card was not signed either, but contained another $300!
Thanks to all of these blessings from God and those around us, we had a wonderful trip to Arkansas, and were able to have a wonderful Christmas. We were each able to give and recieve gifts to show our love for each other and reflect on the gifts God had given us, both in the past few weeks and 2.000 years ago when his Son came to live as a man.
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