365 Days of Service

Day 137 - Oct 28

Once a month our team at the Central offices serves at Mercy Ministry during the work day. We spent about 4 hours working with clients, praying with them, carrying groceries out to their cars, bagging groceries, stocking shelves, etc. It’s a really busy morning - and hot. By the end of the shift I am always worn out but on a spiritual high. I prayed with 6 or 7 women today, mostly single moms. They were all coping with different issues in their families, but the connection was always finances - they were there to receive food. It’s a positive reminder that despite all my day-to-day troubles, God has our family taken care of and we are more blessed than most. I’m always honored to pray with those moms and to offer any amount of encouragement I can.

I followed up my time at Mercy Ministries with time at the Internet Campus. I was able to pray with a young woman whose father has a problem with alcohol. She not only prayed that he would be freed from alcoholism but that he would also find salvation. I’m heartbroken to hear about struggles in families concerning drugs and alcohol because it almost always is a heavy burden for the kids. I wish parents were able to realize what an impact their behavior has on their kids.

Day 136 - Oct 27

No, not a workout at the gym, but a workout at Mercy Ministry. Tonight was one of the times during the month when everything needs to be done. Mercy has been blessed recently with tons of food. For a while there, we were really short on supplies and did not have much to share with the poor in Oklahoma City. All of a sudden, last week tons of food appeared in the warehouse. Suddenly, we’re having to move boxes and boxes of supplies around, restock shelves, reorganize and get rid of tons of cardboard. There were two awesome groups working together tonight at Mercy. One group bagged all the groceries we need for Tuesday and the other was organizing the clothing closet and doing the heavy lifting. I was sorting frozen chicken into smaller bags and then helped with the cardboard and restocking. When I left I was exhausted. It was a lot of hard work. Another night to go to bed early.

Day 135 - Oct 26

Well, I started this serving walk with God 135 days ago. Recently I was thinking back over everything I’ve experienced and learned during that time - trying to glean what exactly it was God intended for me. I think I’ve discovered it.

Haha, don’t get me wrong, the journey’s not over, but I finally had a breakthrough. I’m not exactly what you’d call a willing servant. Ryan can tell you all about that. But I knew that was an area of my life where I was coming up short as far as God was concerned, so He challenged me on it. Tonight, as I got ready for bed, I had a moment of panic. I was exhausted (think maybe I caught a little bug) and so I was getting in bed early for a good night’s sleep. I thought, “Oh no! What have I done to serve others today?” I honestly couldn’t think of anything in my day that I’d done for someone else. Then it hit me - it’s Sunday - my day to serve in the toddler room at the church. I suddenly realized that serving no longer looked like serving to me - it had become second-nature, just something I naturally enjoyed doing. Wow. Good job, God.

I hope that inspires those of you that think you don’t have the time or the energy or the desire, to get out there and serve - you’ll be surprised one day when you realize that you actually enjoy doing it. I’ll be praying for you.

Day 134 - Oct 25

Ryan and I discovered a fabulous snack at the Bookstore holiday meeting/celebration last year and we’ve been hooked ever since.

Here’s how to make them:
Rold Gold Pretzel Twists
Milk Chocolate Hershey’s Kisses
Candies (We use Reese’s Pieces)

Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Place pretzels on a baking sheet (use parchment paper so you can clean the sheet easily after). Unwrap and place the Hershey’s kisses on top of the pretzels. Place sheet in oven for approx 3 minutes (I have to test this sometimes because a convection oven takes less time). Remove from oven and immediately press the candies into the top/center of the kiss. This will press the chocolate down onto the pretzel. When they have cooled (about 30 minutes) they will be one solid treat.

A friend of mine invited me to her house tonight for movies with the kids. I took the supplies to make this pretzel treat with me because I know her 3 year old loves them. We had a great time playing, decorating pumpkins and eating chocolate pretzels. After the kids went to bed she and I had fun talking. Ryan is still out of town so it was a nice break from the empty house. Thanks, Tara!

Day 126 to Day 134

This is a quick wrap-up of the past week. I’ve had some big things going on and I’ll be posting about that soon. Until then, you can read about service opportunities I’ve had in the last 7 days.

Day 126 - Oct 17
Ryan and I spent the morning at a funeral for the brother of a co-worker. He was 22 and a state trooper. Keep the Murrell family in your prayers as they continue to grieve and heal. Honestly, it was one of the most uplifting services I’ve attended, even with the questions of why and how.

Before the funeral we took my one remaining foster cat to the vet to be checked out and to get her last set of booster shots. She’s still getting over the ringworm but almost healed. She be getting in the adoption program soon!

Day 127 - Oct 18
Ryan and I spent the day cleaning our garage. With overnight temperatures already dropping into the 30s, we were getting it ready for winter here in Oklahoma when you have to scrape ice off the windshield every morning if you don’t park in the garage. I do not like to scrape ice. I was so grateful for Ryan’s help. After that, I ran errands, and since I was not in a hurry, I returned carts to the buildings, allowed other shoppers to check out in front of me, put things back in their places on shelves, and was generally as thoughtful of others as I could be. There wasn’t a lot of interaction with others, but it was good to be considerate.

Day 128 - Oct 19
I was in the toddler room at the Oklahoma City campus of LifeChurch.tv today for a while. When we had six kiddos crying at once, I started a round on the bye-bye buggy - basically a big stroller we push around the building so they can cry and hopefully calm down. By the end of my shift, I had most of them quiet and content. I moved into the infant room for someone and ended up playing with a set of young twin boys. They were so sweet and easy. It was a fun afternoon.

Day 129 - Oct 20
I met a LifeGroup at Mercy Ministry tonight and worked on bagging groceries, stocking shelves and breaking down boxes. It’s a large group and they always do a great job. When I got home I made a huge batch of spaghetti sauce for dinner and for Bobby Davis’s family since I was asking him for help with pet sitting at the end of the week. Can’t wait to share a spaghetti dinner with his family.

Day 130 - Oct 21
On my lunch break I prayed with a man during the Internet Campus experience. We had a great conversation about his wife and the difficulties he was facing in his marriage. He really seemed to have a lot of faith and was praying that God would restore his marriage. I encouraged him and prayed for them both and their union. I hope he stays in touch so we hear more of his story.

In the evening the ladies in my LifeGroup and I all got together to hang out and talk. It turned out to be a long night but a ton of fun and great conversation. After evenings like that I’m reminded how blessed I am to have a close group of Godly women in my life.

Day 131 - Oct 22
Ryan left town in the morning so I went to LifeGroup alone. I’d made chocolate-covered pretzels and brought them to share with everyone. Tonight’s topic of discussion was about parenting and sharing your love of Christ with your children. Although I didn’t have a lot to add, I was blessed by the stories the adults in the group shared of their childhoods growing up with Godly parents. It was awesome to learn more about their faith journeys and to hear the passion they have for giving the same experience to their own kids.

Day 132 - Oct 23
I left town today with a group from LifeChurch.tv. While sitting at a stoplight after lunch, a homeless guy asked us for money. And while I was tempted to give him some cash I had in my wallet, I’ve learned that I hear God better when I share food with them, rather than possibly supporting a bad habit they may struggle with. I handed over my bag of chips from lunch that I didn’t finish. Anyway, it was so cool to hear him say thank you and bless you all. I hope he really does mean it was a blessing and that he has a relationship with the Lord. I’m saying prayers for him tonight.

Day 133 - Oct 24
Thought about a friend today during meetings and grabbed a set of the goodies we were given to share with her. Although she wasn’t able to be there with us, I wanted her to know I was thinking about her and I”m grateful for her friendship.

Day 125 - Oct 16

I spent the day working at home and then the evening working at the bookstore. I was keeping my eye open for any opportunity to go out of my way to serve but just didn’t seize upon anything big. I was working the customer service desk tonight and one gentleman called and asked about a couple of books in the store. I went to the shelves and pulled those for him so he wouldn’t have to look for them when he arrived - but that’s really part of the job description. Near the end of the night I spent time going around the store grabbing everything I could find from the floor, tables and chairs to spare anyone else from the task - but again, someone would have done it eventually. I even tried to allow someone else to take a break before myself, but they insisted. So, I don’t know if I was simply unaware of a big opportunity, or if one didn’t exist. Today was a day when I look back and wonder if I missed something, caught up in my own world.

When I got home at 11:45pm, I took my youngest dog, Pongo, on a long, fast bikeride. It was probably in the 50’s outside, so it was a cold ride. But I felt he deserved it since he’s been spending a lot of time in his crate lately (yet another round of housebreaking) and hasn’t been able to burn off his usual amount of energy. So I think Pongo would consider that an effort to serve someone else - even if it was my dog.

Day 124 - Oct 15

As a participant of Blog Action Day 2008, I wanted to spend time in this post highlighting some of the poverty statistics in Oklahoma City and the people and organizations doing something to help the poor.

pov·er·ty
–noun
1.    the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor; indigence.

Oklahoma City, OK - Persons below poverty, percent, 1999: 16.0%
Oklahoma City, OK - Persons below poverty, percent, 2006: 17.0%

The study showed 587,591 Oklahomans were estimated with income below the poverty level, which in 2006 was $20,000 for a family of four.
*according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey

According to these numbers poverty is steadily increasing for the citizens of Oklahoma City. Here are some of the agencies and organizations trying to help the poor:

Travelers Aid and Homeless Assistance Center’s mission is to elevate the needy, homeless and stranded travelers to a position of self-sufficiency.

The Dorothy Day Center is a food pantry that serves the greater metropolitan area of Oklahoma City.

Reaching our City’s Mission is to assist in developing a community of people who are spiritually, emotionally, and physically equipped to use their God-given talents to bring about permanent and positive growth of their families and neighborhood.

The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s mission is to help the charitable community effectively feed people in need.
Food Bank Facts: During fiscal year 2008, the Food Bank distributed 25 million pounds of food and other products to hungry Oklahomans.

BritVil Community Food Pantry is privileged to have the opportunity to serve our great God by providing food to those in need.

Mercy Ministries’s vision is to offer compassion to the poor and the needy. The purpose is to provide food, clothing and tangible forms of God’s love.

I serve regularly throughout the month at Mercy Ministry and I highly recommend everyone get involved with an organization that is meeting the needs of the hungry and the poor in your area. If you don’t have time to volunteer, make a monetary donation or a donation of clothing or food. We can all do something to help the poor. Take the time today to make a difference in your area. The names of the organizations above will take you to their websites so you can get more information about becoming involved.

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Day 123 - Oct 14

I spent some time in prayer with a guy who contacted me online at the Internet Campus today. After a brief discussion about finances and God’s provision, he actually asked me to walk him through recommitting his life to Christ! It was one of the single most meaningful and memorable moments for me as a part of LifeChurch.tv, but also as a follower of Christ. I am so honored to be a part of the Internet Campus and to be a link to a relationship with Christ for others. I hope we get to hear more of John’s story if he continues to stay involved with the Internet Campus.

Day 122 - Oct 13

Tonight I spent time delivering clothing to Mercy Ministry on behalf of some friends. I spent time with an amazing LifeGroup sorting and shelving clothing for the following day. This group is great, full of energy, and they get started and knock things out. I love it.

I followed up my trip to Mercy with a trip to the Apple store to get Ryan’s computer looked at. The diagnosis is probably a bad motherboard so they are ordering parts for it. Hopefully we’ll have it back in a few days.

Day 121 - Oct 12

As always, I went to the Oklahoma City campus of LifeChurch.tv today to serve in the toddler room. There were a lot of babies in there today and we’ve seen a big increase in the number of twins at LifeChurch.tv. Maybe it is something in the water.

Thankfully, I did not have to change any stinky diapers, but the trash was plenty stinky, so someone had earlier in the day. I like the stinky-free days.