Fed

So the church I attend, Vineyard Community Church, has a Thanksgiving tradition where we hand out complete Thanksgiving dinners to those who need it most. For some, this along with our Christmas Eve Donut Outreach are the pinnacle of all the outreaches VCC does throughout the year. And this year was no different. Moreover, as the economy has put a strain on peoples' finances and folks are learning to go without, VCC wanted to make sure no one, not a single person, went without hope in Jesus Christ.

'Cause that's our job, that's what we do.

So this year they set an audactious goal - hand out 1,200 complete turkey dinners. Admist people losing their jobs, people's 401(k) plans tanking, people having to cut back and say "no" and budget like never before, Dave Workman, our senior pastor, stood up on stage and asked people if they could give $20-30 and fill up a box so a family could, yes, have a nice Thanksgiving, but also know about our God. About his love, grace and mercy. And Dave knew that would be a lot to ask of some people, so he wasn't expecting everyone to be able to do it. So Dave asked those folks to pray for the dinners that would go out. See, it's not all about the "stuff", it's the divine appoinments. The light touches. The person who's got nothing who receives far more than a dinner, but a deep sense of who God is.

1,200 dinners though? That's up from 900 last year. And during an economic crisis. Was this really going to happen?

As I drove into the VCC parking lot Saturday morning, I couldn't find a spot. So you know, this is a parking lot that fits 2,000 cars easily and I had to park all the way at The Chapel up the road a bit. I had to walk in the 22° blustery cold all the way into the Atrium. And I couldn't have been happier. Because people didn't just show up, they showed up en force. To see all the people walk out with their boxes, most of them decorated by their kids, some wrapped in paper, others splattered with construction paper hearts and messages of love on them where going out the door to their own divine appointments. Stranger meeting stranger. Now friend helping friend. All to say, "God loves you, and we do too".

In the end 1,200 dinners weren't delivered but 1,500. 1,500. Some people took five and six boxes and sacrificed their own Thanksgiving dinners to make that happen. Dave told the congregation he was pulled aside by one man during the outreach who said, "Last year...you guys gave my family a turkey. This year, we get to be the ones handing out a turkey. And our hope is next year, we can do even more."

Now, I could end the "60" there. With warm and fuzzies and the faint taste of cranberry sauce lingering about your mouth. But there is a deeper story here, one you can carry on with you today, on Thanksgiving and deep into the rest of your life. And it's simply this – God feeds his people.

He feeds us. Always. He finds a way. Sometimes it's with a turkey dinner. Other times it's a kind word from a friend. A line of scripture from the Bible. A paycheck when you most need it. A sense of hope when all seems lost. He feeds us when we find ourselves hungering for more than ourself. Something bigger. Something that really means something.

He feeds us. But we need to be willing to trust. Someone once said, "A hand open to give is also open to receive". And for a lot of us, we're really good about the giving part, it's the receiving we need to embrace and cherish. So this week, my prayer for you is to let God "feed" you. Spend some time with him, let Him lead you to some things He's put on your heart lately. Be open to accepting His love and love of you. And the love others have for you as well.

And if you think of it, let your friends and loved ones know about the turkey outreach. Not how a congregation showed up. Or even how VCC showed up. But that God showed up to fed 1,500 families. And you as well.

Beds

During LA La Viña, an outreach which reaches out to the Hispanic poor in our community, one of the families we serve had one sole immediate need – three kids under the age of 10 in need of beds. The mother, who works very hard couldn't afford beds for her children and it wrecked her to the core. For her kids to sleep on the aged carpet and warmed only by thread-bare blankets...well, how would it make you feel?

But here's how God shows up: Two people, who'd never been on that outreach felt they "needed" to see what it was all about Saturday morning and when the mother's needs were known, each one had a missing component – one had a toddler bed, the other a twin bed for two. And another first-timer had sheets and pillows for the twin bed.

And while the mother was embarrassed to tell us her family's needs, the people who had the items were bursting with excitement, joy and were more than ready to help. (I think there was a suppressed high five floating about the room amidst the tears of joy.)

So today, twelve people, most of us strangers, regrouped again after meeting each other for the first time yesterday, to go back over to deliver two beds and bedding for three kids who'd been sleeping on matted, worn out carpet for over a year.

And that....that...is Christ in action, kids. Princess bedding for the girls. Batman bedding for the little boy.

And let me say, this is not about a good deed, or about a "warm and fuzzy" at the end of the day, it's all about Christ in action. Period. And how He puts the right people in the right places in the right time to help three little amigos in others path just to so He can say, "Sleep well tonight...for you..are a child of God."

So to Kimberly, Jennie and Railey. "Jesus te ama."

And we do too.