The Weekly Yarn - November 18th - Thanks be to God!

Calendar Reminders:

November 25^th:  There will not be a meeting.  The next meeting will be on December 6^th.

November 29^th:  Prayer shawls and Prayer Blankets will be on the altar rail on Sunday the 29^th.  Please join me at 9:15 outside the Parlor if you can help arrange the items on the altar rail prior to the 9:30 service, and at 10:45 prior to the 11:00 service, and at 12:15 to fold and return the items to the cabinet after the 11:00 service.  Thank you for all you do.

Generosity:  As we begin the holiday times, gifts to be given and gotten are on our minds, parties to attend, and a host of other activities.  Generosity can be elusive as we get caught up in the hustle and bustle. 

Davis outlined four requirements of generosity on Sunday, the 22^nd, in his sermon.

1. Generosity is an act of grace. Grace is an attitude of gratitude.

2. Generosity can occur in scarcity, as in abundance.

3. Generosity cannot be coerced, but it is a voluntary act.

4. Generosity is defined by the Incarnation.

You are all guilty of being generous – generous with your time, love, care and concern for those who are in desperate situations, those who are hurting, and those who need the comfort and healing power of God’s love.  You never have enough time, sometimes, not enough money, but you’re always there.  You give voluntarily, not because you are coerced.  You give because you are a member of the Body of Christ.  Thank you. 

You cannot imagine the changes you make in other’s lives, and your own, until you deliver a Prayer Shawl and share the tears of joy, grief, and relief.  Promise yourself you will step out of your comfort zone and share one of these precious moments in 2010.  We’ll have a practice session in one of our meetings in the first quarter if you like.

Care Packages:  Packing will be done at 10:30 on Tuesday in the Church Office conference room.  Please be there if you can.  I realize this is very short notice.

Other items needed for the packages are:

Ink pens
Notepads of paper

Hot cocoa mix

Individually-wrapped licorice
Microwave popcorn
Ramen noodles
Macaroni & cheese

Toothbrushes

Playing Cards

Body Powder

Deodorant

Socks

Tip of the Week:  I read this in a newsletter recently.  It’s a good storage option for those of us who tend to buy yarn before we need it and keep a store of it on hand in case we have a brilliant idea in the middle of the night.  You know who you are!

“I have finally found the perfect storage solution for the huge amount of yarn which I have amassed during my 50 plus years of knitting. I store them in a closet in hanging sweater garment bags which have several cube-like compartments. The yarn is sorted by type and color in plastic bags in the compartments and is easy to see and retrieve at first glance.” - Jennifer M.

God’s Plan:  I have to share a story with you – a God moment.  When I was at church this morning, straightening the Prayer Shawl cabinet and doing other tasks, I realized there were a couple of Prayer Aghans on the bottom shelf that had been purchased about six months ago at Goodwill, when we were desperate for anything to fill the cabinet.  Almost immediately after they were purchased, and added to the cabinet, beautiful handmade shawls started coming in, and the cabinet overflowed again.  These two blankets continued to be pushed to the bottom and to the back of the cabinet without an owner.

Today, as I straightened the cabinet, and realized the cabinet was still comfortably full, I made the decision to take them with me and donate them back to Goodwill.  I dawdled around a bit and did a few more little tasks before I left.  As I walked out the door, a very upset woman walked up to me, saying her mother was very ill, supposed to go to surgery, had no money for a cab, but they had taken a cab to the church, and the cab driver was calling the police.  She continued to say her mother was nearly naked and cold, and she couldn’t get in the church, but she knew Reverend Allen and named a couple of other people, and knew that I could get her in. 

I was taken aback to say the least…what should I do?  All of the warnings we’d heard about what not to do when someone confronts you in the parking lot went through my head!  My first response was to give her the two blankets and say, “Wrap your mother in these two blankets!”  The church door was locked so I went to the buzzer, and said “There is a lady out here looking for Reverend Allen” and the receptionist said “he’s on his way out”, as the door opened and Allen stepped out. 

Reverend Sheri was walking up the sidewalk as tears started down my face!  The two blankets that I thought were give-aways had someone’s name on them.  God just needed hands and feet to take them outside at precisely the right moment to hand them over! 

Never doubt God has a plan for all that we do.

Happy Thanksgiving: 

We have so much for which to be thankful.  God has blessed us with abundance. I pray you are blessed with a Thanksgiving that is filled with all of the blessings you deserve.

Thank you for all of the blessings you have brought to the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Blessings and love,

Beverly

“A smile is the light in your window that lets other know there is a caring person inside.” – Dennis Waitley