Do not read this if you are anchored to your comfort zone

It’s been a tough year.

We just can’t.

Maybe next year.

Expenses are up and profits are down.

If I were to start a list of the top 10 or 100 reasons why people said that they couldn’t help with this year’s WOFCC fundraiser, these would be near the top.  These answers come easily for some and harder for others, but the common denominator is that we could all give a little bit, even if it was only $25.

Yes, things have been tight in western Oklahoma these past couple of years.  We did well while the rest of the country struggled and now with oil prices down, we have lost quite a bit locally.  But we are not without.  We are still people of means.

We live indoors.

We have food to feed our families.  Sometimes we eat out.

Our power is on.  We have gas for heating and cooking.  We take hot showers and baths.

We drive to work and to Walmart.

We still have our satellite radio or download our tunes to our phone a buck or two at a time.

We still watch the Sooners and the Cowboys and the Thunder on television. Occasionally, some even make it to the game.

We seldom think about whether we can afford that convenience store coffee or Coke.

We still put fuel in our vehicles and plug a handful of quarters to wash those vehicles every once in a while.

We may have less but we have not hit the bottom, except perhaps in our thinking.  We think that we have nothing left to give.

I do not want anyone to give anything out of guilt, but would ask that we do a reality check.  We—most of us anyway—are still blessed.  We are blessed beyond what we comprehend and yet in our minds we sometimes forget how blessed we are and believe that we have nothing or little to give.

We should remember that we are blessed to be a blessing, not just to get by in this world.

Guilt must not drive our giving, but truth should speak to our very souls.  We can give and there are those who are struggling among us just to live.  The second part should speak to the first.

The WOFCC is often called the community care center.  We hope that everyone in the community will feel that they are a stakeholder in this ministry.  We ask that everyone who can contribute what they can.  That may be $100 or $50 pr maybe just $25.

This call goes out to businesses, churches, civic organizations, and individuals.  The WOFCC helps those that Jesus called the least of these my brothers.

You may tithe at church.  If you do you are in a very small minority.  Fewer than 5% of Christians tithe.  Some give less than 10% but about 4% give 10% or more.  God attaches a promise to the tithe.  Not only will the one who tithes continue in God’s blessings, but God’s storehouse will be full.

It is 2016 going quickly on 2017 and God’s storehouse is not full.  The Western Oklahoma Family Care Center stands in the gap to meet needs that the family, the government, and the local church bodies are not meeting.  The least of these brothers and sisters would go without if not for the WOFCC.

I do not want to evoke guilt in anyone, but I do hope that we will open our eyes to the fact that most of us are still blessed.  We are blessed in that we not only live at a good standard of living but that we can help those who live in poverty or just can’t afford insurance.

This is a call to the compassion and compassionate of our communities in Beckham, Custer, Roger Mills, and Washita Counties.  Examine yourselves and your situation and see if you could not part with $100 this week.  It may make a big difference in the year to come for someone who will otherwise go without food, power, medicine, dental care, or knowing that those who profess to be children of a God of love actually do love the least of these our brothers and sisters.

Your donations do make a difference.  To date, we have leveraged every dollar of donation and turned it into $1.50 worth of services.  That’s a good return on investment.  Your donations make a difference.  They make a difference right here at home.

Now is the time to make that donation.

You may donate online or by mail, but please donate, not begrudging the action, but cheerfully knowing that even in our toughest times we are still blessed to be a blessing.

Mailing Address:
PO Box 1727
Elk City, OK 73648-1727

Physical Address:
609 West Avenue E
Elk City, OK 73644

Sincerely,

Tom Spence

Chairman, Board of Directors

Western Oklahoma Family Care Center

Dig into your discipleship

Board meeting tonight in Elk City.  Tuesday is election day--Wednesday for those of you who are voting for different people than I am.  Thursday is the Marine Corps Birthday.  Friday is Veterans Day.  Saturday the scouts pick up food from homes in Burns Flat and Dill City to begin our Ministerial Alliance Food Drive.  The missions room is ready to receive.  Sunday, we will gather to worship the Lord.

Whatever the day or the outcome of the election or however old the Corps lives to be, every day belongs to the Lord.  Our lives belong to the Lord.  It’s not so much what is on the calendar or on the dinner table, it is all about bringing glory to God.

This week our challenge is to dig into our discipleship and be fully convinced of how God has called us to live our lives in response to his incredible grace and mercy.  Our entire lives are to be lived as a sacrifice to God and we are to give ourselves fully to him.  That includes our mind.  He is the Potter and will reshape and renew our mind if we will turn away from the patterns of the world and trust fully in him.

God has given us the mind of Christ, but first we must set aside the mind molded by the world.  Then—in a life fully given to God and with a renewed mind—we will know God’s will for us.  And we should not be afraid of that will.  It is good.  It is pleasing.  It is perfect.

Take this week’s challenge to heart.  Dig into your discipleship and become fully convinced in your own renewed mind of how God wants you to live out your salvation.

Let’s get serious about following Jesus.  We will have the time of our lives!