Thanksgiving. For some, it’s become, not a day about giving thanks, but the day that earmarks the beginning of Christmas shopping. Instead of taking the time to reflect on the incredible blessings and favor we have as Americans, it has become a frenzied day of greed and self-centeredness. While I recognize that our country nor our lives are perfect, we must admit that we are abundantly blessed. For most who are reading this article, we have a warm home, food in our cabinets and a car to drive. Even for those who have little or nothing, there are caring charities who attempt to provide for the basic needs; clothing, food and shelter. While we may not realize or appreciate it, even those who we would call poor are often better off than many in this world. That is why it grieves me when I see such a lack of thankfulness. In one of the most blessed countries of all times, I have been amazed and saddened by the anger, rioting and general discontent in people we’ve seen this year. When will we stop to count our blessings? When will we be satisfied with the abundance that we have? At what point will there be a pause, a reflection and a genuine heart of appreciation and spirit of gratitude? How about this week? It doesn’t have to be an “around the table” moment or a long prayer, but there should be a true spirit of thankfulness in our Thanksgiving. God is good and God has been good to us. Give thanks!
Ten years ago. It was 2009 and we were preparing to step into a new decade. We were celebrating the move out of Brooks School Elementary into our new home at 11616 E. 126th Street. No more setting up and tearing down. We were proud, thankful and grateful. All 70 of us. For the first time in our short history we had a home. We had 150 chairs. We could meet on Wednesday evenings, have choir practices and we actually had rooms for kids’ classes! We thought we had arrived. Now, as we close the decade, just 10 years later, I marvel at what God has done. From 70 people to over 300 who now call Life their home, we have witness God’s faithfulness as we have shared His gospel. We have seen God do amazing things. We close out 2019 with an expanded campus and a spirit of expectancy and excellence. As we prepare to step into a new decade it seems to be just as it was in 2010, a launching pad moment. We enter 2020 with 4K cameras and live broadcast that will take our services around the globe and new seating that will give us the ability to seat nearly 500 people. What will the next 10 years be like? God only knows. What is our responsibility. The same as it was as we stepped from 2009 to 2010. To pray. To keep seeking God with all of our hearts. To ask God to do it again, to bring another outpouring of His Spirit as He did in the book of Acts. Let’s trust Him to take us further than our greatest imagination both in our own lives and at Life.
A person who performs a service willingly and without pay. It’s the definition of a volunteer, but actually describes so many people who make Life their home. Today, we honor those who make Life an amazing place to worship. They are the “seven men” of good character found in Acts 6. They serve without compensation, work in the shadows and often are under appreciated. Volunteers are the backbone, guts and glue of Life. They are single parents walking through difficult seasons. They’re young couples, some with young children, whose lives are filled with demands. They are seasoned adults who could relax and enjoy church. They are seniors who want the next generation to know and experience the powerful God they did. Its people who show up nearly every Saturday to pray for an anointing on everything we do; every service, every ministry and every person, covered in prayer. It’s worship teams, audio, video and lighting people, here early on Sunday mornings and in the middle of the week, making sure that the environment you experience in worship is the best. Its individuals serving in the nursery and toddler’s classes. Its teams creating incredible worship experiences for our kids’ classes. Its people who make FSM and Hyphen events work. Its gifted and talented people that share their abilities for the Kingdom. They do carpentry, paint, provide landscaping, plant flowers and help keep the place clean. Finally, it’s anyone who greets, smiles and makes every guest want to return. To everyone who serves, in any way, we honor you today. Without you, Life does not work. Thank you for blessing us with your gifts and talents.
One of the principles that the Bible teaches about God, is that He loves when we give thanks. In Psalm 136, David devotes an entire chapter to giving thanks unto the Lord. This month our goal is to do the same. Today, we say thanks to our Life family for the support of Life’s vision. Your commitment to the vision has created a wonderful place to worship and place where people feel safe as they discover God in a personal way. Your kindness to our family over the past year is so appreciated. As we walked through the difficult journey of losing Mary’s mother there were so many cards, text and kind gestures. We were absolutely shocked when we walked into the funeral home to find nearly half the flowers were from the Life family and friends. This past month we celebrated the marriage of our daughter, Risa. Again, the Life family was incredibly amazing as we celebrated her special day. We were so moved by your kindness and generosity of time and energy. Finally, thank you to everyone who sent cards, gifts, texted or simply spoke a word of encouragement during Pastoral Appreciation month. We are blessed to serve so many amazing families and people. People who serve unselfishly, are growing in Christ and many who have been walking through incredibly difficult times. We are thankful to call you a part of the Life family and thankful to be able to share life’s journey with you. Thank you for being a part of our life!
A volunteer, a person who performs a service willingly and without pay. Yesterday we saw it exemplified in an incredible way by our church at the Fishers Strawberry Festival. For no recognition for themselves or Life Connections, we had an unbelievable group of people who laid it out so we could bless a church that was victim to last week’s tornados in Dayton Ohio. While we can’t mention everyone, we must mention some. Hailey Whitener and her boyfriend who were simply everywhere doing whatever it took to serve. Mike and Amber Jaarda and their family, who took a morning shift in our drive thru, and ended up staying over because of the overwhelming crowds. Randy and Robin McGarr who showed up to do “whatever was needed,” and took us to another level throughout the day. Socrates and Azucena and their family made clean up such a success. Andrea Kopanski and Kaitlyn Groover who stood in the hot sun for hours with the Strawberry sign getting the attention of motorists. Maddie McDermott’s family, who doesn’t even attend Life, stepped up and blew us away with their servant hearts. The list could go on and on, so many servers, table preps, bounce house monitors and greeters. Simply put, you exemplified the heart of God. Thanks to Renee Clark, David and Keah Cuautle, Jeff Bocek, Gentry Hudson and our entire staff for all the behind the scenes work and for having the heart to say, “let’s do this for Dayton.” We couldn’t have done it without you. To everyone who volunteered, a heartfelt thank you for making a difference.
Let’s take just one typical moment in a child’s life; a bicycle crash. A dad’s response, “I’m sorry, let’s get a band-aid, you’ll need to be more careful next time.” A mom’s response, “oh honey, what have you done, come here, let me give you a hug, it’s okay let those tears flow, let’s get a Kleenex for those tears, let’s wash off that cut, let me get some medicine before I get a band aid, we need some cookies and milk to make it feel better.” A Godly mom; God’s gift to the world. If you are a woman, a mom, you are hard wired to be a manager, nurse, doctor, chauffer, Uber driver, cook, chef, maid, house cleaner, seamstress, instructor, tutor, janitor, gardener, decorator, activity coordinator, psychologist, sociologist and just about any other job you might think of. Godly moms are prayer warriors, prophets, pastors, and teachers with words like, “I pray you…, don’t make me tell you again and didn’t I tell you that would happen.” They give, not because they have too, but because that is the way God wired them. They are often the first one’s up in the morning and the last to bed at night. They care more than they are supposed to, they have an intuition that is laser like and hearts that are bigger than the Grand Canyon. Today we applaud the beautiful women that are a part of Life, whether single, hoping to be a mom, mom, grandmother or great–grandmother, you are a gift from God, uniquely made to make the world work. Happy Mother’s Day!
Memorial Day. A day that we remember those who served and gave their lives for our freedom. Because of those who believed in the values of our country, for what it stands for, they fought and died that we might have liberty and freedom. We celebrate this weekend because they battled and struggled with enemies who opposed our beliefs. We don’t know most of their names and we can’t name many of the battles, but we can look back and celebrate their lives and victories that allow us to cookout, watch a race and make lots of memories. For there to be a memorial there has to be several components. There must be a cause, an adversary, a struggle or battle and finally there must be closure. In the closure we count our loses, remember the struggle and hopefully celebrate our victories. It is a time to honor, be thankful and remember the sacrifices. We are blessed to be Americans. We are blessed by those who served and died. May we never forget those who have and will continue to make America a great nation. God bless America and those who serve.
Over the past month I’ve taken notice that many retailers are returning to age old tradition of being closed on Thanksgiving. I’m glad to see this trend because over the past few years it has seemed that Thanksgiving was disappearing, being discarded by greed and materialism, the very opposite value that Thanksgiving is all about. In a time that is so filled with anger and hate I think it’s important that we take time to pause and re