Let Us Give Thanks to God

I have so much for which to be thankful. Don’t you?
This past Thursday all across this country individuals celebrated Thanksgiving Day. This has been a tough year for many people. Just about everyone has been faced with examining their priorities. Many people may feel like they do not have much for which to be thankful. A lot of people have lost their jobs. Thousands of homes have been foreclosed. Retirement funds and savings accounts have dwindled.

In reality some of us are more fortunate than others. Our circumstances are more pleasant. Our resources are more sufficient.

Do we give thanks only when times are good? Or is there always reason for thanksgiving? While it is not necessary to give thanks for our circumstances, it is always appropriate to give thanks in our circumstances.

I am grateful for God’s blessings in my life and at the moment my life is good. I have a job. I still own a house (and a mortgage). There is food on my table and I have a warm dry place to sleep. My family is scattered across the globe but we love and support each other. My health is good. My retirement account is recovering. It is easy for me to give thanks.

Paul instructed us to “give thanks in everything for this is the will of God concerning you.” He was not suggesting that everything that comes our way is the will of God. Many situations are simply the results of bad decisions by us or others. Tragic circumstances occur because of the evil in the world. Everything is not the will of God. But I believe that it is the will of God that we demonstrate an attitude of gratitude at all times.

We have faced hard times this past year and more difficulties will probably come along in the future but a spirit of thanksgiving is still appropriate. The Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, spoke to people who were in very difficult circumstances. In desperate time when his food source was scarce and his livelihood in doubt, he said “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18).

Whatever our circumstances let us give thanks to God--today and every day.

--excerpt from Jamie Jenkins, North Georgia Annual Conference

Let’s continue to show our love for one another by giving to others that do not have. Let’s continue to help support the connectional giving of our denomination. To learn more about giving click here.

Miss Lladale Carey
Web Producer
UMCGiving.org

If you have stories you would like to share through our blog, please send us an email at connectionalgiving@umcom.org.

Just Up the Road

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if one stops the car, or is walking by, one will notice something quite amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This is alone is amazing.

Listening, one will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, one will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her bridle is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her.

As one stands and watches these two friends, one sees how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by God and thoses whom he places in our lives. At other times we are the guide horse, helping others see God.

Author unknown.

By giving 100% to your United Methodist Apportionments, you help others locally and around the world. To learn more click here.

God is Still in Control!

Miss Lladale Carey
Web Producer
UMCGiving.org

If you have stories you would like to share on the umcgiving.org blog, email us at: ConnectionalGiving@umco.org

Jonathan’s* heart sank when the college admissions clerk told him he needed a parent’s signature for his financial aid paperwork. He flashed back to the police hauling his mother to jail.

“She’s in jail,” he said quietly.

“What about your father?” the clerk asked.

After hesitating, Jonathan answered, “He’s in prison.”

This is one young man’s story, among many at Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, Fla., where some students face several threats to their future. The good news is that there is hope, thanks to the generous gifts to United Methodism’s Black College Fund. Recognizing the importance of historically Black colleges and universities, 20 annual conferences remitted at 100 percent to the fund in 2008.


“The Black College Fund is very important to our institution because it provides scholarship funds for many first-generation students who come from very troubled backgrounds,” said Bethune-Cookman University President Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed.

Troubled backgrounds need not translate into troubled futures. Intervention makes all the difference in the world.

“Some of these kids are homeless. That’s how important [intervention] is. It’s the difference between them having opportunity or not, and without that money we couldn’t possibly make ends meet,” Reed added.

The university’s mission is to serve, in the Christian tradition, the diverse educational, social and cultural needs of its students and to develop in them the desire and capacity for continuous intellectual and professional growth, leadership and service to others.

When United Methodists give to the Black College Fund apportionment, they ensure that Bethune-Cookman University and other historically Black colleges and universities can live up to their mission. Thank you!

*A pseudonym

--Dawn Gibson

God is still in control!

Miss Lladale Carey

Web Producer

UMCGiving.org

Do you have questions or concerns that you would like to post to the UMCGiving.org BLOG? Send them to us at ConnectionalGiving@umcom.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

Conference Merit Scholar

Congratulations to Sara Croissant on being selected for the Conference Merit Award from the North Texas Annual Conference. Sara is in her first year at Hendrix College, Conway, Ark., where she is majoring in environmental science with a minor in religion. She has been involved in youth council, youth choir, and mission trips, has been a member of the Conference Council on Youth Ministry since 2003 and a junior counselor for Conference camps for five years. Sara and her family attend First United Methodist Church, Denton, Texas.

The Conference Merit Award is funded by a rebate of 10% of the United Methodist Student Day Offering which is traditionally held the last Sunday in November.

As higher education costs rise and the economic crisis continues, the demand for student financial assistance has increased sharply. The United Methodist Student Day Offering provides scholarships and loans for people across the U.S.--maybe someone you know.

For more information and to see how you can support United Methodist Student Day, click here.

Thank you North Texas Annual Conference for your giving.

GOD is still in control!

Lladale Carey
Web Producer
UMCGiving.org
SpecialSundays@UMCOM.ORG