My church is amazing! (Religious thread)

[MTSUGURL]

I just got an email from the minister of education at my church, and they are paying my rent this month! (I have some medical bills that have put a strain on current finances.) I'm not destitute, but this is a HUGE burden off my shoulders. I've been praying for relief for a while, and praise God He's provided!

[WCUgirl]

Awesome.

In fear of hijacking your thread, I'll share a similar story that happened to the youth leader of my church a few years ago. She was going through a period of financial difficulty, and one day her car broke down and she found out she needed about $2,000 to make the repairs. She had a church meeting that same day, and when they opened the meeting they took prayer requests. All she said was to please pray for her financial needs. When she got home from that meeting, there was an envelope w/ cash in the exact amount that she needed waiting on her doorstep. She doesn't know who gave it to her or how they knew that she needed that amount b/c she never told anyone what the estimate was for the repairs.

I just thought that was a neat story to share. Sometimes you need little reminders of how generous people can be.

[Honeykiss1974]

Amen!

That's great news. All things are possible with God.

Be blessed!

[navane]

That's terrific! I love it when God busts out neat little blessings like this!

.....Kelly

When my dad died (I was 10), my church congregation took care of all our utilities for the three months bereavement leave my mom was out of work. It was such a tremendous blessing because it helped my mom out a LOT. Not only did she have to deal with my dad's passing, but she had to take care of me and then learn how to take care of the finances -- my dad was in charge of everything, and suddenly my mom didn't know what to do.

What surprised me the most was how they were able to keep it a secret from us, considering the size of our congregation (it's the largest Catholic church in the state). The generosity of these people is something I'll never forget, and I hope that one day I too can help others.

[honeychile]

Our God is an Awesome God - and when His people listen to Him, awesome things happen!! I'm so happy for you, MTSUGirl!!

My own mini-hijack: The church I belong to had a smallish congregation until just before I started. The pastor was SO anointed, there are now over 600 teenagers - teenagers!! who show up every Wednesday night! It's in a fairly affluent area, and the kids (middle and high school) have taken on the project of a small town in Appalachia. They raise money during the year, and then take turns spending part of their summers there: cleaning, mending, painting, teaching the kids who would normally be in summer school, etc. They feel a sense of responsibility and "ownership" that no other project could have done! I am so proud of these kids - they're learning to give freely from their own pocket (so to speak), and values that their own schools don't teach!

ps - I should state that my pastor is originally from Appalachia, which explains why they have an "in" there, but they have to spend a turn in the inner city before they get to go there.

That's really awesome! I am moving to Canada in June and doing some work at a church in Montreal. A woman there in the church is getting married this summer in Portugal and has offered to let me live in her 3 bedroom condo all summer FREE OF CHARGE!! And, i can use her car as much as I want. I can stay through the beginning of September which will surely give me plenty of time to find my own place and save money. COOL! He does answer our prayers!

[BetteDavisEyes]

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was
walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the
sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he
noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one
belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When
the last scene of his life flashed before him, he
looked back at the footprints in the sand. He
noticed that many times along the path of his life
there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed
that it happened at the very lowest and saddest
times in his life. This really bothered him and he
questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that
once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all
the way. But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life, there is only one set
of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed
you most you would leave me." The Lord replied,
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would
never leave you. During your times of trial and
suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it
was then that I Carried You."