GBC Community Update: Give thanks for the hard things

 Good morning!  It was nice to be out with our youth on Sunday having the opportunity to serve our community. We had the chance to help the Howitt Park Community Garden group close off their garden. It was a cold day but at least didn’t rain.  God is giving us some great opportunities to let our lights shine!
 
 
“FOOD MOUNTAIN” -GBC food drive in support of Royal City Mission
From December 5-19 this year we are very excited to begin building a “Food Mountain” again. This year we will again be supporting the food bank at Royal City Mission (RCM)! 
Whether you are able to donate 1 tin or box of food, or a dozen, we hope that you will consider contributing to our mountain. Please think about letting your children bring their own tins, chipping in with friends to buy a case of a food item, or providing money to Helen Martini or Carroll Chapman so they can shop on your behalf.
Here are some suggestions from Royal City Mission of what they are specifically looking for:
- Tinned tomatoes
- Anything that can go in chili (eg: black beans)
- Any tinned vegetables
In December of 2019, our mountain was almost 5 1/2 feet high.  So can we get higher this year?  I think we can!  Let’s encourage each other to make this happen. 
Thanks to Helen Martini, the head of our Care Ministry, for again organizing this practical way to let our lights shine in the community.
 
 
Thought of the Day: How To Be Truly Thankful – Give Thanks for the Hard Things
On Thursday I shared about being humble before God in order to build a spirit of thankfulness.  As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been looking at this in perhaps a different way.  Today I’m going to take it up a notch- give thanks when things get hard!
James wrote this in the first chapter of his very practical look at living out the Christian faith: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” Really? Do you? Do I????  Honestly, this is a struggle for me and not a default position when troubles come. Rather, I try to figure out how to correct or get through the situation. Rarely do I say, “Gee, thanks God for troubles!”
So lets work on this together.
Joy isn’t the opposite of trouble, it’s a choice you have despite your trouble.
You can choose joy in the middle of a broken family, memories of a painful childhood, or even your own failing health.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, troubles might actually be your bridge to true thankfulness or a spiritual breakthrough that couldn’t come any other way.  I know this has been the case in my own experience.  Often times we don’t see that until after something is done. This is kind of a ‘theology of hindsight’.  What happens here is it gives sometime to consider the NEXT time trouble comes. So yes, this is a process, much like our spiritual journey. But when we can have this kind of mindset we can then be thankful no matter what.  In the meantime, as you go through troubles, the key is to remember whose hands you are in.
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris