Heartland Hands Update and Needs

During the month of August, 2010, HeartLand Hands served 246 families consisting of 749 people.  We are continuing to have new clients.  This month we averaged 6 new families each week.  Approximately 15 volunteers per day served a total of 489 hours.

We have been blessed with 3 new volunteers.  One volunteer liked us so much she brought her husband.Three volunteers attended the annual Mid-South Food Bank training.

We were contacted by Harvest Support to begin receiving out-of-date pastries and coffee from Starbuck’s in Southaven.  Ms Pat picks this up on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  This month we have picked up a total of 106 pastries.  These are offered first to the volunteers and then to the clients.

Early in August one of our volunteers was at Schnuck’s purchasing bath soap for the pantry and a lady in the store inquired about the amount of soap she was buying.  When she explained the situation the lady gave her $20 to donate to the pantry.

Petco has been collecting pet food from their customers to give to us.  They wanted this project to be more visible at their store so we took our HeartLand Hands banner to the store for them to display and hopefully draw more attention to the donation box.

We have provided emergency boxes to 7 different families.  There is one homeless lady on her way to the pantry now and she is the second homeless female we have served since we closed today.  One other lady who was homeless and without a job last month brought a Thank You note in telling us how grateful she was for the help she received here.

This month our volunteers and others have donated: cash, bath soap, food items, shampoo, dish detergent, eggs, laundry detergent, and hygiene items.  One person donated 27 cases of individual boxes of laundry detergent.  We are so very grateful.  The last two ladies we served requested shampoo.  Preacher, you will be pleased to know that 50 bottles of shampoo was donated in your honor from the HeartLand Hands volunteers for your Birthday…Hope you had a nice one!

Heartland Hands Update

During the month of July, 2010, HeartLand Hands served 203 families consisting of 619 people.  An average of 15 volunteers a day served 481 hours.

The Community Helper, publishes and distributes information cards along with retail coupons to residents in DeSoto County.  This year their card listed 8 Community Help Programs.  HeartLand Hands was one of those eight. In addition to the community awareness these cards provide, the director visited the pantry and gave us a cash donation.

Petco donated a gererous amount of pet food. Schnucks on Swinnea and Goodman donated 4 boxes of food. Our volunteers and others donated hygiene items, eggs, baby food, laundry detergent, softner, and cleaning supplies along with other assorted food items.

One of our main volunteers has been unable to volunteer this month due to health issues and he is greatly missed. We have one student volunteer who will be with us for 6 weeks and new volunteer is being trained in the pantry but we will be losing one due to work conflicts. At this time, we are unable ot accept clients as volunteers.

Memphis Food Bank increased our purchasing limit, and we have been purchasing more food and are able to pay our bill immediately upon pick-up.

One of our refrigerators was not maintaining a consistent temperture and needed to be repaired, so a Heartland person was able to determine and repair the problem before any of the food was lost.

We submitted a request to receive potatoes directly from growers.  Our request was forwarded to Jackson for consideration, but we have not gotten any further response.

We are grateful to have HeartLand Hands needs published twice this month in the Sunday info sheet.  However, we have not been overrun with response.

If you would like to volunteer to help with HeartLand Hands you can contact Connie James at connie@heartlandchurch.cc. To donate needed items, you may place them in the barrels in the foyer and kids klub entrance, or contact Connie for large or perishable things.

Heartland Hands Update and Needs

During the month of June, 2010, HeartLand Hands served 205 families consisting of 643 people. An average of 13 volunteers per day served 480 hours. We are surprised at the number of new families that come in every day.

We provided 6 emergency food boxes this month, and have had two volunteers agree to be responsible for our emergency, after hours boxes.

We were sad to lose several regular volunteers, but each has agreed to come in as needed.

We have received donations this month from several organizations, and we were blessed to receive laundry detergent, toilet tissue, eggs and dish detergent from various individuals.

Our bread suppliers have not been able to donate bread for the last several weeks. Our clients are really missing the bread and buns we customary provide.

We are now having to purchase bath soap, dish detergent and shampoo from local retailers.

Our biggest need right now is for volunteers. We would like to train several people in the pantry, as well as front desk and interviewers.

We are constantly in need of bar soap, laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo and conditioner. These items are all luxury items that we can not purchase from the food banks. We depend on donations for these things.

Right now, as you read, we are unable to provide bread to our clients. The bread stores are not able to donate bakery items. We hope this is only temporary but we sure do miss having that resource available.

If you would like to volunteer to help with HeartLand Hands you can contact Connie James at connie@heartlandchurch.cc. To donate needed items, you may place them in the barrels in the foyer and kids klub entrance, or contact Connie for large or perishable things.

Faith-Nurturing Family Activities

I’m back…. this past week I got to spend time with my WHOLE family.  I have 4 sisters, one “perfect” sister-in-law, and a patient brother.  My nephew graduated from University of Houston Law School and it was our reason to get together and celebrate.  I don’t know if  you have been to any graduation ceremonies lately but everybody else brings their “whole” family.  During the ceremony I walked around the arena and witnessed families being families.  It gave me time to ponder on what things I did right and many of the things I did not do right.

Many times I just went with the flow and did not intentionally lead my children Sam and Shay, to the Bible and to prayer. I did try to set an atmosphere of peacefulness and allow my kids alone time.  Mothers set the atmosphere of the  home.  Just like the adage, “if Momma isn’t happy nobody is happy.”

My children, Sam and Shay, now intentionally pray with their children and read to them from the Bible and I am grateful for the Christian values they teach their children.

Here are a few ideas to help  you be intentional in leading your children to spiritual values.

A spiritual home will produce a spiritual child who matures into a spiritual adult. Here are specific activities to help parents build their children’s faith at home…

Family devotions are notorious for giving migraines to parents and causing children to groan.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 suggests the best way to meet these goals. Moses says that “these commandments…are to be upon your hearts.” We are told to “impress them on [our] children.” How? By talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” WOW! Here’s movement; crafts (gee, we should even write on our doorframes — get out those stencils!); conversation; and creative, hands-on teaching at its best — all to be done with our children.

Activities that are natural yet directed, routine yet imaginative, personal yet spiritual, nurture faith at home. A spiritual home will produce a spiritual child who matures into a spiritual adult. Here are specific activities to help parents build their children’s faith at home.

1. Worship Preparation — Prepare for formal “at church” worship before you leave home. Wake up earlier than your kids so you’re not rushed.  Music sets an emotional tone wherever it’s heard. It worked for King Saul, and it worked in our madhouse also.
2. Prayer — Have you ever passed by someone broken down on the side of the road but you just couldn’t stop? Why not pray aloud for that person?
3. Bible Reading/Study — Read a key verse at breakfast. Read or tell a Bible story in your words before bedtime. Bible reading should be a social, bonding opportunity, not a dry discipline devoid of purpose. Remember: Short passages for “short people,” long passages for “long people.”
4. Meals Together — Mealtime is family together-time. Even if you regularly don’t eat meals together, you can still create activities that nurture faith during mealtime.  Encourage conversation. I like to ask open-ended questions at the table. Ask each person, “What’s the best thing that happened to you today? the worst?” Instead of asking, “What did you do at school today?” get specific: “Who did you play with at recess? Who did you sit with at lunch and what did you talk about? Who was your friend today at school?”
5. Family Fun — Television, the newspaper, Nintendo, shopping, and the telephone can interrupt or effectively eliminate opportunities to build faith. Pull the plug on these things.  Board games have become one of our family’s favorite activities. Around the Monopoly board, we dream about what our homes will look like someday on the inside and outside.
6. Celebrations — Birthdays in our home are all-day events. One child is special, and we emphasize that.
7. Vacations — The best part of a vacation is the memories it gives family members.  Prayer for the journey is standard, but what about prayer at the restaurant so others will know that God is important? What do you do on Sunday away from your home?
8. Service Projects — It’s been wonderful to hear my kids pray each night for the last four years for Mariamu in Zimbabwe. We sponsor this little girl and pray specifically for her food, water, education, and family. We feature her picture prominently in our home. She has literally grown up with us.
9. Sacrificial Giving — Allowance time is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate sacrifice and giving. Set up three cups: one for God, one for saving, and one with your child’s picture on it. Allow children to determine who gets what, and help them stick to it. Let their savings be for a specific project. Turn in their “God” cup once a month at church (once a week for younger kids).
10. Rest — Spiritual nap-time? Sometimes a busy family needs a break.  God has  commanded  that we take a break. A family pause is an ideal time to regroup, reconnect, and recharge.
11. Family Mission Statement — Stephen Covey introduces an important concept in the life of a family by encouraging families to come up with mission statements. Covey writes that there’s a “supreme value in the process of long-term thinking and planning in building strong families. Deciding as a family what your worthy purposes, worthy visions, and worthy values are will unite your family in ways you’ve only dreamed of.
12. Family Conference — We have family night every Saturday. We take turns planning an activity. . We also have three or four family conferences each year to assess our assigned chores and responsibilities, to evaluate family nights, and just to connect in a formal way.
13. Conflict Resolvers — Sometimes siblings can get on each others nerves. What better way to redirect tension than to think about the good qualities of one another. Whenever someone in our family is mean-spirited to another family member, the offender has to say or write four things he or she appreciates about the other person. This makes us thankful for one another and tenderhearted.

Times when we have to discipline our children become great opportunities to share God’s forgiveness and unconditional love. Last night my two boys had a water fight in the basement with their friends. They were in their rooms awaiting the punishment, and their contrite hearts melted my wife and me. They were truly sorry and said, “I wish I could take it back.” What a wonderful time to share the forgiveness that resembles God’s forgiveness.

Conflicts, as with all family situations, provide clear opportunities to put flesh to Jesus, put teaching into practice, and make Christ the center of our homes and therefore our lives.

– Keith Johnson is a children’s pastor in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.