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I’d like to ask you a question. Would you say that your life is mostly characterized by scarcity or abundance? 

Go ahead.  Look away from this text, look around, think about it, and answer the question.

Now, how did you determine your answer?  Did your mind instinctively review your possessions?  Your bank account?  The things you go without?  The things you wish you could give your kids?  Your charitable contributions?

Or did you think about your fears?  Did you think about all of your contingency plans?  Your failsafes?  Your probiotics, vitamins and exercise regiment?  Your 401K? The plans you’ve made to ensure that you’ll never have to ask for help…never be indebted to anyone…never have to ask for anything…never be at the mercy of anyone?

I’ll tell you what doesn’t make sense: a kid in a nice restaurant who won’t order anything because she doesn’t want to be a burden to her parents.

“No it’s ok…I’ll go hungry.  I don’t want you to have to provide for me”. (Suffers hunger pangs all night and worries about how she will get her next meal all on her own).

Scarcity.

Do you live this way?  I do.

I’ll give you a small example.

One of the ministries at Mountain Christian Church with which I am privileged to serve is called Shine.  Through Shine, our church is partnered with A. Montoya Elementary.  The purpose of this partnership is for us to work out our calling as people who have been infinitely loved by loving those within the A. Montoya community.  As we do that, we work to bring relief to the suffering and build bridges between ourselves and our community.  We get to support the school in the many things the staff and PTA do to educate and invest in the students there.  One recent event we had the privilege of participating in was A. Montoya’s Fall Festival.  Almost as soon as I found out about this event, I encountered my own attitude of scarcity.

First, I had a tough time with the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to attend the festival myself.  I am the coordinator of this ministry, and as such, am the one with the most connections, knowledge, and comfort at the school.  The idea of sending my friends in to serve without me made me very uneasy.  How would they know where to go?  Who to talk to?  Where to set up?  Who would be there to introduce them to people?  They wouldn’t know anyone and would just have to figure it out alone!  Without ME!  (I do see how ridiculous this is now, but at the time, these concerns seemed very valid).

Second, a brave friend of mine offered to run the cake walk at the festival.  We needed cakes to last for 2 hours of game play.  None of us was sure how many that would be, but we knew it would be A LOT.  The PTA president told us that in years past, they’d simply bought lots of cupcakes so that they could give one cupcake away with each cake walk round; because you know…otherwise, how would you have enough cakes to give away?  I was already nervous about that…about not having enough.  I ran this idea by my brave friend.

“Hmmm.  You know what?”, she said, “I’m hoping we can bless their socks off and do cakes.  I’m praying this morning for God to provide that.”

My brave friend lives with an attitude of abundance.  She must know of Someone who loves to provide.

We asked for cakes.

Let me tell you…I don’t know if anyone in the history of cake walks has ever sweated a cake walk so badly as I did.  For the next 2 weeks, I worried.  I apologized to my brave friend and the others who so generously stepped up to give their time at the festival for not being able to serve with them.  I felt guilty for asking them to be there, even though I wouldn’t be.  I came up with several plans on how to get more cakes to the school in the event that our church couldn’t provide enough.  I sent out announcements using every communication tool we have to attempt to get the word out that we needed cakes.

Scarcity.  As if it’s all up to me. As if I’m all alone.

I left on a trip with my husband, and prayed.  But my brave friend, she’d already prayed…long before I made my plans.  I prayed now, because there was nothing else I could do. 

As you see, an attitude of scarcity drives frantic action without guaranteed results.  “We need, we don’t have, we must act.”  By contrast, an attitude of abundance drives hope with joyful expectation.  “We need, He provides, we ask.” 

My brave friend didn’t show up at church at 7 a.m. the morning of the festival to see how many cakes she’d have to go out and buy.  She walked in an hour and a half before, just as she’d planned, and shed tears of joy at the abundance that she found.

75 cakes.  75 big, sugary cakes. That’s how many we had.

And some parents at A. Montoya…they brought more.  There were 92 cakes given away that night, the last one handed over at 7:00, the very last minute of the festival.  There were exactly enough cakes. 

God provided exactly what was needed; and He didn’t need any of my contingency plans, and He didn’t need us to lower our expectations.

What brings more joy to the parents of that kid in the restaurant…to see her enjoy their provision of a nice dinner for her, or to watch her starve herself? 

Friends…why do we starve ourselves and look frantically about us for fulfillment of our needs, when our Father is the giver of all good gifts?

My brave friend..I should really call her my faithful friend…and this cake walk have taught me something big about being thankful. 

If I insist on clinging to my attitude of scarcity, I rob myself of gifts my heavenly Father would be delighted to give me. 

I miss out on the relationship-building experience of coming to Him in my need and seeing Him provide. I become increasingly dependent upon myself, knowing full well my own inadequacy to provide for myself.  I choose anxiety over peace; fear over joy.

This month, as we ponder giving thanks, would you consider with me your attitude toward your Provider? 

Would you accept the challenge to pray first…to seek God’s provision first…before you fly into action? 

He is glorified when we rely on Him instead of on ourselves.  He is delighted to give, and is honored when our lives become a display of His goodness and generosity.  He is magnified when His provision becomes the source our daily joy and peace.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” - John 10:10

If I had time, I could tell you Kim’s whole life story, and it is worth every minute! She shared it with me over lunch recently, hoping it would help someone else have an easier journey. That knowing her story, someone might see that depression and mental health concerns aren’t just problems non-Christians struggle with. Instead, these are things that many of us struggle with. You might be tempted to pity Kim, but that’s not what she wants at all. Instead, she wants you to see how God kept showing up in her life, kept speaking to her, kept seeking her and that He continually sent her signs that He was there, waiting and providing for her.

He does that for each of us, doesn’t He……seeking, waiting, showing up when we least expect it? He is the Savior that never gives up on us.

God guided Kim: Kim previously attended several churches, including one in Albuquerque, where Kim struggled to fit in. “…no matter how much I tried, the more I sat in that church, the more I felt like I didn’t fit in,” she told me. “Every conversation was surface level, every relationship mediocre.”  Then, she felt God telling her the He was going to make some changes in her life.

She soon moved to the mountains with family and sensed that it was time to move to a new church. “It was the first time in my life when I really listened to God. I had never listened to Him like this. It was intense,” she said. “But, He was clear…I want you out of this church.”  So, Kim decided to try MCC.

God supported Kim: One Sunday morning, Kim called MCC to ask about women’s bible study opportunities. Admittedly, MCC’s church secretary, Elizabeth, does not always check the phone messages on Sunday mornings. For some reason, she did that morning. “She called me back that Sunday and told me that there were different women’s bible studies.” said Kim. “There was even one the next day!” And by God’s grace, Kim showed up for the Inductive Women’s Bible Study, and has been attending for the past year.

God encouraged Kim: The following week Kim attended her first service at MCC. “On my very first day, I walked in to MCC and saw Kay Willadsen,” Kim shared. “I think God meant for her to be there when I walked in that door. I was scared. It was a big deal to start at a new church. And Kay made me feel so comfortable.”

God left signs for Kim:  Driving up the East Mountains to MCC one morning she looked out through the trees and clearly saw a cross in the trees. “Looking back now I can see that He was showing me that He was right there in the middle of my battle. He was showing me that He died on that cross to take my tears; he died to take my depression, to take my fears. I can see it in His Word.”

God spoke to Kim: The one continuous thing that has marked Kim’s life and walk with God has been her struggle with depression. Growing up in an abusive home, suffering a traumatic brain injury, having her daughter taken out of her home and spending a week in a mental facility have all pushed Kim to her limits, at various times.  It has not been easy for Kim.

“On those days God was trying to speak to me,” Kim said, “whether it was in the shower or anywhere I was quiet, he was trying to speak to me. I didn’t understand it, but I knew he was there with me through every struggle.”

God provided for Kim: Kim shared that, “On one of my darkest days, when I could barely see the light, I walked in to the church (MCC) office and told church secretary Elizabeth Allan, I am done with Jesus….I don’t understand the Jesus thing no more.” Elizabeth, ever patient, just looked at her and asked, “Can you meet me every Thursday?” That was a little less than a year ago and the two have met faithfully every Thursday since. Kim considers herself lucky to have someone like Elizabeth to come alongside her, especially because that was not always the case.

“I didn’t always have someone beside me telling me what Jesus would do for me. I learned a lot about being a Christian on my own,” Kim said. “I didn’t truly understand it but I knew a little bit.” And that little bit was enough to get her through a dark and broken season where God revealed to her that she needed to get some help and to find a church home that would teach, support, and heal her.

God’s presence has been ever-present in Kim’s life, when she allowed herself to be watchful and aware.

There are so many other ways God has shown up in Kim’s life; so many ways He continues to transform her. I wish I could share them all but we’ll leave that to Kim. If you see her, ask her-- you will be blessed!  

From an early age we learn about cause and effect. Universal lessons like, “For every action there is a reaction”, and “if you punch your sister she will cry and then tell on you” are among our first experiences. And for some things, it is easy to tell what is a cause and what is an effect.  But, is it easy for everything?

What about gratitude?  

Is gratitude something you have, that causes something else to happen; or is it the effect of some circumstance - like an unexpected gift?  

In my head, I am settled that gratitude is a cause.  It comes first, it is a choice; but when I look at my life, it is clear that often, my behavior would suggest that I believe gratitude only to be applicable when my circumstances are positive. I live as though it is a result or an effect of something else, something that I have no choice over.

It is in this behavior that I am struck with the fact that I miss so much simply because I don't choose gratitude first.  I choose to focus on scarcity, not on the abundance that I have in Christ.  I choose to think about the challenge of what I don’t have, instead of the great riches I do have because the Father loves me.  

It is an audacious command for Paul to tell us in 1 Thessalonians to “...Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Because to rejoice always and to pray always and to give thanks always requires us to see rejoicing and gratitude as something we have control over; a choice.  

A choice that is not connected to circumstance, jealousy, opinion or the feeling of being victims to our surroundings.

As we start the holiday season, our choice to be grateful will be pressed over and over again.  We’ll be tempted to think about what we don’t have, how we aren’t good enough, and how difficult things are.  Even in our shortcomings, we have a choice to allow Him to make our weakness strong.  This isn’t a choice we make once, but one that we constantly make.  

So, let us go in to this season focused on the abundance we have in Christ, and let’s make gratitude the cause that God uses in our lives to transform us.

As the new coordinator for the MCC Food Pantry, I have been busy with organizational tasks. Thankfully, the Food Pantry’s team of helpers contribute time and ideas to making this easier! We purged the pantry of food items past the “Best By” date. This left a lot of empty shelves so we put out a request for food to restock. Within a week, the Youth Group gathered enough food through the Scavenger Hunt to restock the pantry. What a blessing to get such a quick response to this need!

The next step:  find clients in need of food.  I was still thinking about how to go about this when God brought a person to us! A fellow team member and I were doing some re-organization in the pantry area. I said, “I’ll go ask Elizabeth about whether we should keep that item or not.” Footsteps on the stairs: Elizabeth appeared then, with a man who’d dropped by the church seeking help.

            “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” Matthew 21:22

What extraordinary timing! Mr. M. was passing through the area on his way to relocating in another state. He had a colorful--and violent--history. Yet I felt comfortable talking with him and getting to know his story. He stated that he was a new Christian and wanted to change his life. I encouraged him to seek support when he reached his destination; to get involved with a local church. We made a connection. He expressed astonishment at the help offered to him. Then he packed his motorcycle saddlebags with food and drove off.

This experience provoked some questions for me:  By not confronting Mr. M's story inconsistencies, did I reinforce the concept that church people are naive and easily manipulated?  Should I have been confrontive? Or witnessed more, explained more...how does one handle drop-in clients anyway?

God provided both a client and a learning experience at exactly the right time!

Click here to learn how you can serve the food pantry and what kind of donations are needed!

I learned about Operation Christmas Child 15 years ago. I was at McDonald’s with my cousin’s wife, Lisa. Our boys were playing on the red and yellow plastic slides and she took the Happy Meal doll and said she was going to put it in the box for “her” girl.

Knowing she had three busy boys (at that time 7, 6, & 4) I asked her what she meant and she explained the idea behind the Samaritan’s Purse ministry, Operation Christmas Child. I loved the idea! What a great thing for Gabriel and I to do together – buying small toys and sending them to a child who would otherwise have nothing to open! Including a Gospel tract in their language!

For several years Gabriel and I packed shoeboxes for children we’d never meet, in countries we had never been to, praying these small gifts would bring them joy and into a relationship with their Savior. Later, as I worked with teen girls, we included them on shopping and packing expeditions too. At the time I saw it as a fun project that hopefully introduced children to Jesus. 

Then I was invited to hear a guest speaker at the Operation Christmas Child “Kick-Off”… and it changed the way I viewed the ministry completely! The speaker's name was Nadia, and she was from Russia. She described life in the Russian orphanage as bleak, lonely, and at times horrific. The workers, she said, would force the children to fight each other and place wages on who would win. She was unloved, uncared for, and saw no future for herself.

But then one day, a woman showed up with shoeboxes filled with gifts! Nadia couldn’t believe it! Pencils, hair clips, toys, all for her? But what was most important to her was a toothbrush. She finally had her own toothbrush, one she didn’t have to share! After the woman left, the workers took the nicer things from the children, but Nadia hid her toothbrush.

Even more importantly, the workers couldn’t take from her the realization that there was someone on this planet who actually cared about her.

Why would someone care about her? Nadia was perplexed.

And it was at that time that she read the Gospel and learned about the Savior that loved her and that His love was so overpowering that it changed everything!

Like her, He had been beaten, abused, and abandoned. But He forgave and she needed to forgive, and the Holy Spirit brought life to her!

We all were weeping by the time she finished.

I wept for the neglect and pain; I wept for a glorious God who intervened.

After hearing Nadia I wanted to be a part of this in a way that I never had before. This was no longer just a fun, teachable moment; there is a real Gospel opportunity here.

Now, I don’t know about you, but a toothbrush is a really easy thing for me to come by. I have one to clean jewelry, one to scrub tile, and seem to acquire them. The practical thing that changed about my shoeboxes was that now every single one of them has a toothbrush, and when I have packing parties, every shoebox has to have one. It’s an iron-clad rule.

But even more so, now we pray before we shop. We pray as we pack. I pray throughout the year for who may have received the box. We include notes in the box – notes of love, hope, encouragement, and of course, Scripture.

It seems so small – just a shoebox filled with small toys and sent with a prayer - we may not know on this side of eternity whose hands He places them in – but I know He hears prayer and I know He is able to take a toothbrush and transform lives.

Click here to learn more about Operation Christmas Child. MCC will have shoeboxes available the next two Sunday's in-between services! Pick one up, fill it, pray over it and return it to the church by Sunday, November 5th and we will deliver it to a dropoff location!