At times serving God requires us to put our hand to the plow even though we have no seed to plant. We till the soil out of obedience. We trust God will provide the seed. We trust He will provide the rain as He will provide the sunshine. We trust He will protect the crops against the locust, the deer, and the crow. We trust that as we sow we shall also reap. We trust the harvest will be great and the bounty will be for God’s glory. We know faith without works is dead. And so we work in faith.
But we do not know how God will provide the seed. We do not know when the rain will come or when the sun will shine. We do not know how God will guard the crop. We don’t even know how we will gather the harvest or how it will be used. We only know in preparation for the seed we must plow. And so we plow. In faith we plow.
As we move closer to the end of 2023 it is only natural that we might reflect back on what God has done thus far. Often God has required us to plow without the seed to sow. When inventory at our traditional food sources, the Chattanooga and Atlanta Food Banks, was low He provided in other ways. When the monetary support we had received over the past two years via COVID Relief Grants ran out He provided in other ways. When the physical support we need to operate began to play out He provided fresh faces with strong backs and eager hearts to come alongside those who have been faithful for years. When we grew weary He gave us strength, He renewed our spirits. He met our needs. He provided the seed.
He continues to meet our needs. As we enter into the Holiday Season it seems likely in the end we will have distributed as much food and assisted as many households as we did in 2022. No small feat since last year was one of record highs in both. But we do not serve a small God.
With Thanksgiving upon us we can enter His gates with thanksgiving, our hearts overflowing with gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even while acknowledging the sad state of our nation and the world we can find much reason to give God praise. As we gather with friends and family let us be quick to do so. For He is worthy of our praise.
WHOVILLE 2023 Presented by the Care Mission.
Join us for Christmas at Whoville this December! It all begins at 4:00 PM on Friday, Dec. 1st. Visit local food and craft venders then stay for Lafayette’s traditional Christmas Parade and the lighting of the Christmas tree in Joe Stock Park. Return for more holiday cheer and family fun on Saturday, Dec. 2nd from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM with activities for the kids, live music, food, fellowship, and shop our venders for unique gift items.
Search “Whoville 2023 Presented by the Care Mission” on Facebook or contact Hope Spears at 423-602-1046 for more information. See ya there!
We will be closed the week of Thanksgiving and the week of Christmas through the New Year’s Holiday so we and our volunteers can enjoy time with our families.
Please keep in your prayers; those we serve, those God has sent to serve alongside us, those who serve the Lord around the world, our local and national leaders, Israel, and the lost.
Food for thought;
There was a time when even the most emblazoned evil doers would work in darkness. They understood that society would not accept their wickedness. The infamous KKK worked mainly in the cover of night with hoods to protect their identities. The Nazis successfully hid much of their immoral actions from the world for a while. Throughout history even the most vile dictators and communist regimes have tried to keep its more wicked actions hidden from the eyes of the world. They feared, at least to some degree, the backlash they would receive.
It seems those days are gone. The evil doers of today no longer fear a backlash from those who still possess a moral compass. A backlash that has historically been lead by the church. That church being comprised of men and women of God who fear God more than man. But the church, for the most part, is silent today.
When our government demanded churches close their doors due to the fear of a man made virus most churches complied; even as our government approved the destruction of cities, businesses, and lives by mass groups of evil doers. They were immune, so it seemed, to the laws of the land as well as the virus.
Fast forward to the recent terrorist attacks on Israel. We have watched mass protest in major cities across America and Europe. Protest against Israel and in support of the terrorist. Many of the same people who demand we believe an individual can change their sex, that the color of your skin is the key determining factor in your quality of life, and that America was built on slavery, among other non-sense, insist that Israel is to blame for the actions of Hamas. They celebrate the rape, torture, kidnapping, and murder of innocent men, women, and children. They insist the terrorist are the victims. Evil is never logical and truth is always ignored.
Their hatred is not only for the nation of Israel, it is for every Jew in every nation. And their hatred extends beyond the Jewish population. Since America and western culture is based on Judeo-Christian values their distain is for us as well, us being America, western culture, and Christians, God’s children. And for the most part the church is silent. God’s people are silent. The evil doers do not fear a backlash because they don’t believe one is coming.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8
Thanks for your support.
Be Blessed,
Deon and Kendra