All of us have so much to be thankful for each day. When we awake to a new day, when a friend is in touch with us, for the food we eat, for the water that flows into our homes, for flowers, birds, trees, our health and doctors.

Thanking God should be part of our daily lives. It is also good to tell God about worries and concerns: about relationship, family, finances, summer. Sharing those thoughts with God will often help to learn the burdens we carry.

Summer can be hard on families. They have more meals they need to provide for their children. Some don’t have air conditioning or clean water to drink. We ask for your prayers during this time of year as stresses can be higher.

A Bible verse that comes to mind is: John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

We hope your days will shine even brighter on these beautiful summer days. Have a happy summer!

We all want to lead a life that is exciting and happy, don’t we? With all the stresses we face daily at work and in our personal lives, it is good to find avenues to blow off steam and get the zeal and excitement back to our lives. In other words, we find ways to transform our minds and lifestyles to achieve the happiness that we all desire and deserve.

Truly transformed lives begin with the gospel message of Christ. His Word is where the real transforming power is. It is the gospel that brings us salvation: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17).

Transformed lives are not about being perfect. They’re about effort. When you implement that effort into your life, every single day, that’s when a transformation happens. That’s how change occurs. Make the change to follow Christ now.

Pray with us as we focus on Transforming those we serve. Transformation is not a method, but there are things we can do to welcome and foster the work of God in reshaping His chosen children.

1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

This short verse offers profound words. People do not wake up one day and decide to love (Romans 3:10). God is love, created love, and loved us first. We are not to take credit for the love we have and show to others. God loved us, before we were capable of loving Him, and we can only love others because of what He has done in our lives.

Love is not merely a mutual affection between us and God. It must also include love for others. This is the Great Commandment which involves loving God fully and loving our neighbor as yourself. This is why Feed the Need Missions exist. This teaching is also based upon the ancient Shema, (our sites learned about during Table Talk) from Deuteronomy 6:4–5: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The same is seen in Leviticus 19:18: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

As we pray for you this February to love like Christ, will you pray for our staff and volunteers to continue to put Christ first in our lives so we can continue to love those we serve unconditionally? We appreciate you!

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:8-14

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas story is when the angels showed up in the field where the shepherds were watching their flock. I love it so much because God chose these average than average people to announce the biggest news the world has ever heard. Not only was Jesus’ birth the opposite of fancy, but the people who helped proclaim and spread this news were also just your typical shepherd.

Can you imagine just hanging out minding your own business and all the sudden a “multitude of heavenly hosts praising God” shows up? I am pretty sure I would have dropped everything I was doing and would have gone “with haste” (Luke 2:16) just like those shepherds did to find this baby.

What a wonderful and marvelous picture of God using ordinary people to make an impact for His Kingdom.

At Feed the Need Missions we are all ordinary people just trying to be obedient to the calling God has put on our lives. This Christmas, we hope you join us in praying that ordinary people, like you and I, will be used by God to spread His love, just like he did with the shepherd that night in Bethlehem.

I have several magnetic boards throughout my house displaying thank you notes from various people throughout the year. Recently, a friend commented on them and I realized while I walk by these colorful treasures each day, somehow they’ve faded into their surroundings. Many days my list is so long with the things I want to accomplish that I forget to be thankful for all the things I’ve been fortunate to do.

Like many of you, I began the year full of great ideas that I’ve yet to complete. I find myself feeling discouraged and if I’m being honest, a bit frantic to rush through this exhaustive list. Today, I paused long enough to open just a few of the notes I’ve displayed. As I was reading the heartfelt words of thankfulness, I realized I’m hardly slowing down enough to fully embrace and appreciate these wonderful opportunities I’ve been given. I’m doing them, sure, but then quickly moving on failing to appreciate the intricate way God has designed the opportunity to bless me.

I’ve been here before and I’ll be here again, but today I am resting in the certainty of Who holds the details of my life together. I am hearing Him say, “I’m taking care of the needs you don’t even know you have. Just stay focused on Me.” He’s holding all of us together in His sovereign grace; we just need to pause long enough from our hectic lives to recognize all that He is actively doing.

As we enter into the Fall season of cooler temperatures and watch the new beautiful landscape God is at work creating unfold, it may feel like you’re juggling more than you can handle. Remember that Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Renew your spirit of thankfulness in His grace and embrace Fall’s changes as a gift personally created for you. Pull out those wonderful thank you notes you’ve received and devour the words. I encourage you to reflect on all the good things you are accomplishing this Fall. These blessings may be a child safely tucked in a bed, a warm meal on the table, an encouraging word to your spouse or a friend, or a heartfelt thank you note that will become someone else’s treasure.