As we celebrate Thanksgiving with gratitude to God for the beauty of his world and the harvest he has blessed us with. We thought this was the perfect time to share this very special message of thanks and appreciation for each of you.<\/p>\n
By Marti Burger<\/p>\n
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week with family and friends. I want to express my thanks for you, your call and the context in which God has called you to serve. I am so thankful for the testimony of your lives and how God is working in and through you. I know that in the midst of the busyness of ministry we can miss our time with God- but when we stop and reflect, we discover God has been there all the time. We get to experience God’s grace and glory for ourselves and not just those who we serve. I pray for those who are going through difficult times or feel hemmed with troubles that we would continue to turn to God for strength and wisdom. Thank you to those who have exhibited passionate patience in the midst of life circumstances. Thank you for the way that you are alert to whatever God will do next in your life, ministry and family. I love the passion in which many of you live your lives with alert expectancy trusting God but moving ahead in preparation for what God is doing in your midst. As we take time to reflect this week on our blessings I pray that we experience God in profound ways.<\/em><\/p>\n My prayer for us is from Romans 5:1-5 from the Message.<\/em><\/p>\n By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us\u2014set us right with him, make us fit for him\u2014we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that\u2019s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand\u2014out in the wide open spaces of God\u2019s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.<\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we\u2019re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we\u2019re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary\u2014we can\u2019t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!<\/em><\/p>\n Thank you for living life in front of students and helping them learn process the times of struggles and blessings. May this week be a blessing to you!<\/em><\/p>\n By Aune Carlson<\/p>\n