Grateful Praise

Thank you, Lord, for your provision during National Collection Week! Thank you for good friends, safety of those bringing shoeboxes, generous hearts that packed boxes and for the record breaking response here in Northern Kentucky this year!  I ask, God, that you are already preparing the 14,886 hearts that will hear about Your hope, Your peace, Your freedom, Your love because the people of Northern Kentucky sacrificed for 14,886 children they'll never meet this side of heaven.  I ask that these 14,886 "seeds" fall on fertile soil and that your harvest is ABUNDANT!

I come to you today with grateful praise for the power you have shown in the last few weeks.  I am grateful to you, Lord, for binding satan along the way and for reminding me that YOU are in control and already know what is coming!

"Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord."                 Ps. 150:6

"The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him."           Ex. 15:5

As the trailers pull away from our Collection Center in Alexandria this morning, and as another OCC year comes to an end, I am very reflective.  Yesterday, my dear friend and "sister", Debbi, reminded me that God has blessed this area and my team in so many, many ways.  That we have been praying all along that God would have us send the shoeboxes He purposed for us and that He needed from us.

So, in the spirit of Gratefully Praising God this morning, here's how He has worked in us this year:

• 14,886 Gospel Opportunities - a 7.8% increase over 2010 (13,810) and 1,076 more shoeboxes and also a new all-time high record for NKY!
• I still have two groups of Collection Center paperwork to enter into the database, but already we added 5 new community groups and 18 new churches participating in OCC for 2011!!!  That already blows our goal away!
• We added 5 new team members with the potential of 2 more already in talks
• We added a Media Coordinator, a Prayer Coordinator and will most likely add a Community Relations Coordinator after the first of the year!
• We added a new County for our area - Gallatin County, and
• A new Relay Center for that new County - Warsaw Baptist Church, and
• An energetic and full out fun lady to Coordinate that Center - LoraMae Sullivan (you'll see more of her in 2012, I predict!)
• We saw a few churches across our area break unbelieveable shoebox records:
• Walton First Baptist - 160 in 2010 to 511 in 2011!
• Latonia Baptist Church (Go, Doris!) - 500 in 2010 to 605 in 2011 - out of her house!
• Oak Ridge Baptist Church - 1,074 in 2010 to 1,533 in 2011!
• Calvary Baptist Church - 12 in 2010 to 145 in 2011!
• Team unity and organization.  In 2011 this group of people working at multiple purposes and separate and apart really came together in their love of this ministry and grew as a family that loves each other and is excited to see one another when we get together!
• We were fortunate to increase the speaking opportunities in our area:
• Churches
• TV appearance for Doris and myself!
• Latonia Small Business Association
• We were able to have booths at several community events:
• The anniversary celebration of Potter's Ranch
• The Pumpkin Festival in Warsaw, Kentucky
• The Fair in Gallatin County (where we picked up our RC!)
• We had record attendance at our Countdown Event in September!  We increased attendance over 2010 from 114 to around 140 for this year!
• We sent out 309 letters during Affirmation Campaign saying "thank you" to churches, community groups and individuals who participated in OCC for 2010!
• We had 8 of our team members attend our annual Connect Conference - training in all things OCC!
• We had our first annual Prayer Walk (Drive) to every Relay Center and our Collection Center.  We prayed for NCW as well as the other ministries and staff at each location.

I dare someone to say we didn't meet our goals!  We not only met them, God blew them away!

Satan - 0

God- 14,886 and counting!!!!

Yes, we had a lot of adversity this year in our personal lives ... family members passing away, illness, some turmoil in our Regional Office, tough work environments and circumstances, etc., but God blessed over and over and over again even in the midst of those distractions!  

God wins! He is faithful.  We serve a mighty and powerful Savior! 

He deserves praise for all the things that were accomplished in Northern Kentucky for 2011.  For HE is the reason we serve; reaching children across the world for Jesus is our purpose and our goal!  

I can't wait to stand before my Lord and be surrounded in 14,886 faces that are there with me because Northern Kentucky heeded God's call to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Mt. 28)

Rest up, everyone! 2012 is just around the corner and this tired mind is already awhirl with ideas!!!

Love to you all and THANK YOU for all the sacrifices, the time, the talents, the shopping, the wrapping, the packing, the working in collection to make the 14,886 Gospel Opportunities possible!

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  I Thessalonians 5:18