30 Days of Gratitude – Day 25

 During our stewardship campaign, I was honored to stand in front of the congregation and give my thoughts on why the mission initiatives of the church are so important to me. Often times, we can only guess as to the impact of our deeds on the lives we touch. However, every once in a while, we get direct feedback on how these seemingly small acts on our part have huge impacts on others, as was the case with this year’s back to school clothes program (https://www.rockumchurch.com/2013/09/18/back-to-school/), where the recipient responded “I may not know a single thing about you, but I definitely know you’re my guardian angel. Great things just started happening once we learned of you! I will be paying your kindness forward when I’m able”.
I also discussed some of my personal challenges this year, and how we have a tendency to focus on the negative. It was therefore, very timely for me to see an article entitled 30 days of gratitude which suggested that we should acknowledge and reflect on one thing each day in November (rather than one day of Thanksgiving) that we are grateful for. My list for the first 25 days is below. Next time you see me, ask me for my list of my last 5.
• My Wife, Bridget • My community • Strangers
• My Daugher, Kady • My father • Music
• My Son, Daniel • My mother • Technology
• My church • Those that serve • Our Servicemen and women
• My job • The food on our table • Seasons
• My health • Laughter • Peace makers
• My country • Sunshine • Our environment
• My faith • My senses • Children
• My friends
For each item, I am making a donation of $1 to the mission program of the church. I am requesting that ½ goes towards our mission shares and ½ towards a Stop Hunger Now packaging event that will be occurring in the spring, ideally at our church. Please take the time to consider what you are grateful for, and if you are so moved, think about how you, too, might “pay it forward”. As is written in Proverbs (11:24), “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”. God is good!
– Dave