I hate to sound cliche, but there are no words to express my gratitude and joy for the Heavenly Handbags outreach / ministry. This Christmas we accomplished our 3rd Heavenly Handbags Christmas Give. On December 21st I successfully delivered 30 pink stuffed bags to the Durango Community Homeless Shelter and the Southwest Safehouse. I was informed at the time of delivery that 11 Heavenly Handbags would be given to domestic violence victims staying at the Southwest Safehouse.
This Christmas Give, like previous years, was incredible! There was something unique that was impressed upon my heart this Christmas season: The care and love of God for each one of us. Truthfully stuffing 30 handbags in one month seems near impossible, there are so many little things that have to come together, the communication, coordination, and time in an already busy season. Yet in some unexplainable way all the details fall into place, and this is when you know it is God!
My logistical mind creates budgets and spreadsheets, as I want to be a good steward of every penny that is contributed. As a verify and scan my lists I am keenly aware that I have to be mindful of every item I place in the cart, which will be stuffed into each bag, because there are a certain amount of funds. Yet, God!!
Yet God stretches every penny and cares so much for these women that all of a sudden my precise budgets are blown out of the water, and I can provide more goodies than intended for each bag. Now each gift went from thoughtful to God-given because I am not sure how my calcualted budget which provides proof of the necessary items that can be purchased, and yet the cart holds far beyond those items and there are a few dollars to spare. That is the care and love of our God!
Yet God stretches every penny and cares so much for these women that all of a sudden my precise budgets are blown out of the water, and I can provide more goodies than intended for each bag. Now each gift went from thoughtful to God-given because I am not sure how my calcualted budget which provides proof of the necessary items that can be purchased, and yet the cart holds far beyond those items and there are a few dollars to spare. That is the care and love of our God!
I believe that His love for these homeless and abused women is so great that He cares about the details of the lotion, hand sanitizer, and bag they will receive as a gift. He takes "impossible" situations, orchestrates the outcome so that His love is evident. God cares about the details of our life, so much so that He stretches pennies so that we may receive more blessings. He meets us where we are at physically and spiritually, and in this case He met a group of women staying at a shelter in Durango, Colorado. I am thankful for a God who knows where I am at and what I need to be encouraged in my faith and life circumstances.
So in this New Year just remember that God cares and loves YOU dearly.
I am thankful for the fun partnership with Trisha Ross and Thirty-One this Christmas season. She was instrumental in collecting donations for all 30 stuffed Heavenly Handbags. Thank you to every woman who contributed towards Heavenly Handbags this Christmas. It is because of your generosity that this Christmas Give was possible. Below are some photos of the success of the Heavenly Handbags 2012 Christmas Give.
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| The Heavenly Workshop: Prepared & ready to stuff |
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| The thoughtful items stuffed into each bag |
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| Packaged & ready to be stuffed |
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| Thirty-One Gives: Cute pink bags stuffed & donated to homeless and abused women |
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| Ready for delivery! |
