Luke 14:12-14 NIV “Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Amen.
Another amazing day. I truly just stand in awe of God’s goodness at each of these events. First and foremost all the glory to God. I cannot tell each and everyone of you how wonderful it was to see so many of you there volunteering. I missed you all so much and it felt so good to be back at it in full force. This is one of my favorite days of the month. I look forward to it all month long and sharing with so many of you is truly priceless. As I shared before we prayed today, I love you all more than you even know. Truly you all have touched my heart in more ways than I even think you realize. We served well over 200 people today, probably closer to 250.
We gave away 51 Easter Baskets to the kids and over 130 care packages. The whole day went so well and I appreciate how much everyone came together and just worked. As always, I know some jobs are not that much fun (i.e. washing the dishes, LOL) but today they were done with JOY and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that. The most amazing thing to me is when we open the doors and we have over 50 people waiting for the doors to be opened. I love serving, fellowshipping, and loving on everyone. We had Catherine Steele there from Proclaim FM and she brought her guitar and sang – what a sweet voice.
Danielle and Vanessa as always make sure things run smoothly so I can just wonder around and visit with so many of the people we are serving. It was so good to see Tiffany, who is still recovering from surgery, but she and Brad were still there serving. Oh I cannot even tell you guys how much I missed you all. So many things touched me today but I think what touched me the most is when 3 of our homeless friends asked how I was feeling, they told me they had been praying for me. Truly my eyes filled with tears because I am dealing with anxiety and they are homeless and praying for me. What a mighty testimony to me. Pastor Billmeier from the church is also so special to Jamie and me. I cannot even explain how much we love him. He informed me that someone came to the healing service last week to pray for me. Yes, someone showed up to have them pray for me at a healing service. Wow, how AMAZING is that. I cannot even begin to thank each and everyone of you for the prayers and love you have all sent my way. It means so much to me and my family. Craig, one of our absolute favorite people showed up and we were able to visit with him. Craig is family to us and we love him so much. He even donated some laundry detergent for the next FREE laundry day. You see this isn’t about feeding people, this is more about forming friendships and loving on people. Eric and Phyllis who we adore told us they missed us last month.
We were able to pray for Michael who is going through a very difficult time. Please pray for him as well as he just became homeless. God is doing mighty things in this community and we are blessed to be a part of it. None of this is possible without all of you volunteering, making dishes, making monetary donations, and praying over the event. I am so humbled by what is going on and Praise God each and every day for the blessings he has given us and thank him for all the people who show up each month that we are able to serve. As most of you know I love children and to bend down and give a big hug to a small child just melts my heart. So much joy is felt at this dinner. Lives are being impacted, not just those receiving the meal, but those of us serving the meal. Thank you to Nancy who cooked the 4 hams for us today. It helped out so much. We had several new volunteers today and I hope you all enjoyed yourselves. I am sorry I was not able to spent much time with you all, but please know your help is so appreciated. Neil and Jen are amazing. They both just step up and do whatever is needed. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! We had a concern today that people started tearing down the tables before the meal was over and was told “Nothing says leave more than taking down tables and chairs before the guest are done” so I think we need to maybe reevaluate that next time so everyone feels welcome the entire time. We want everyone to know they are welcome. We know it was not intentional and that is not what was meant by it, but we want everyone to know they don’t have to pack up and leave 🙂
Our next meal will be Sunday, April 19th and I will try to get the sign up sheet posted early this week (God willing). Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the help you all give each month. My prayer continues to be for God to bless each and everyone of you. I love you all more than you even know!!
GOD IS GOOD. . . ALL THE TIME!!
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My name is Joni Meyer-Crothers and I run this couponing/money-saving blog along with my husband, Jamie. We love to show others how to save money in a BIG way! We do all the work for you. . we do the matchups and show you where to get the coupons, many FREE printable coupons. Sit back and follow the blog and watch your savings increase! Couponing is a ministry for our family as we we love to show others how to save and share from their couponing harvest!
