Some of the BE The Church stories that have been shared:
"I got $ at the service today to share with others and decided to get a gasoline gift car for a single mom who could use some help. I presented it to her tonight and she was very excited-she said she was running on fumes. What a blessing. While I was purchasing the card, the cashier looked frazzled and very pregnant. I don't what her background or situation was but thought that her's a 'God opportunity' staring me in the face. I got another gasoline gift card and purchased it from her. She gave it to me and then printed out a receipt. When she gave me the receipt, I gave her the gift card-she said, 'Sir, that is for you to keep and use'. I said 'It's for you. God bless you.' She was amazed and very appreciative. What a blessed experieneced this has been. Thanks for the idea."
"Will bless a Walmart parking lot worker tomorrow..he always comes to my car to help me put the groceries in the trunk. He doesn't have to do this..he has "blessed" me so many times ...I will forward my blessing to him. Thank you Lord...for Cedar Creek Church family...everyone..is soooo blessed!"
"Well I don't even know where to begin. I just got out of jail on Saturday after spending 84 days in there. Only by the grace of God did I get to get out. . . Thank you Jesus !!! . . .I think God had a plan for me and he wanted me to be at church on Sunday and receive an envelope of money .. Now let me tell you when you were like I know some people are asking what they could do with just $5. Well I knew I could go and get envelopes and stamps and send letters to some of the inmates in jail because I know what it was like to receive mail in their it just made you feel like someone actually cared and loved you enough to send you a letter. So I had no problem if I only got $5. You see I figured that I would get that amount because that's kind of my luck.. However when I opened the envelope I had $100. Let me tell you I just about cried because you see I could really use that money myself since i just got out of jail and I have no job , no money . my cell phone was cut off and I am living at a friends house ( Thank God for her) Because I was at MY Fathers House and when I went to jail they gave my bed away so I couldn't go back there . But see my first reaction was "look God gave me a gift so I could go and buy some food and clothes for myself and then I thought no, I have to use that money to bless someone." So it actually didn't take me long to know what I was going to do even though everything in my flesh was screaming NO use it on you !! LOL!!. Well I am sending about 5 or 6 Life Recovery Bibles to some of the people that are in jail . Because while I was in there the only bibles they give out are the King James Version which, I think is very hard to read. Especially when most of the women in there are just learning to read the bible.. . I also put some money on a persons account who never really receives money to buy shampoo, soap, etc.. Its like the only thing you look forward to is canteen day in jail.. Its kind of sad... But I have to tell you I feel so blessed that CCC has given me this opportunity to be able to bless these people who are in a bad place in their lives. And actually that was the one thing I said when I was in there that I wanted to do was to get some good bibles in here and now God and CCC has allowed that to happen . Wow, actually when I think about it now God took what I wanted to do and made a way for it to happen. I think that is just so cool.. I will also share with you if I receive any letters for them. Listen one day I will also share some of my experiences in there. Some of them were very cool. I mean I got to see God work in amazing ways. I got to see him turn these drug addicts off the street into people who were on their knees praying at night and watching what they say to people as far as the cursing etc. It was really cool! I mean I couldn't have experienced a lot of that if I wasn't there so in some ways I don't regret being there at all. I also know God had to knock me to my knees and show me that He was in control of my life not me. See a friend ( who has been such an incredible friend and blessing to me I mean no matter how much I screw up she is still there. Sometimes I can't figure out why except that she has Jesus in her. ) had said she felt I needed to read through the whole bible and that was when I was going to get out. So thank God one person had a recovery bible and allowed me to actually read through the whole bible. Thats why I really wanted to get these bibles to them because if I didn't have that one bible I would have never been able to read through the whole bible or at least understand it. Being in there I realized how blessed I am to have such a great church family who loved and cared for me even though I felt I didn't deserve it. I also told everyone about CCC and Celebrate Recovery so I am hoping to see some of them show up. So you see God can use our bad situations for the good. Thanks for reading my story."
"MY COUSIN IS A SCHOOL TEACHER IN THE HEART OF THE VALLEY. HER DAUGHTER ATTENDS. MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHERE SHE IS A CHEERLEADER. THE CHEERLEADERS WERE SELLING CANDY TO RAISE MONEY TO PAY FOR THEIR UNIFORMS. BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS SELLING IT AROUND SCHOOL, She WAS HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING RID OF HER CANDY. AN EIGHTH GRADER, CAME TO SCHOOL ON MONDAY MORNING (THE DAY AFTER CEDAR CREEK CHURCH GAVE OUT THE BE THE CHURCH ENVELOPES) AND SURPRISED her. HE TOOK THE MONEY FROM THE ENVELOPE AND BOUGHT "ALL" OF HER CANDY, TELLING HER THE STORY BEHIND THE MONEY AND WHERE IT CAME FROM. THIS NOT ONLY BLESSED HERH BUT IT PAID FOR HER UNIFORM. THEN, HE TOOK THE CANDY AND GAVE IT OUT TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AT THE SCHOOL. TELLING THE STORY WITH EVERY BOX OF CANDY HE GAVE AWAY THAT DAY!"
"We recently joined the Cedar Creek Church family. Anyway, when the Be the Church series began, we came home and discussed what we would do as a family. To our knowledge, our new neighbors do not attend church regularly, if at all. The dad, just had surgery and cannot mow the lawn, so we decided we would mow their lawn, trim trees, and cook lunch for the family of six. With everyone feeling the effects of these dim economic times, we knew God would provide the funds to provide the family with a decent lunch. God provided that opportunity this past Sunday when we received the Be the Church blessing in order to assist in "the little things that make a big difference" challenge. Along with the gifts received from our two envelopes, a couple of generous women sitting behind us gave us their envelopes, so with a total of $45.00, we were able to get the items to prepare a hearty meal including dessert and a gift bag filled with fabric softener, dish detergent, toilet paper, and paper towels. Thank you so much for the awesome opportunity to share Jesus with our neighborhood family. Many continued blessings as our God is sooooo GOOD!!!!"
"I just wanted to let you know what my family was able to do with the suprise "blessing" we received at church Sunday...after much thought, we donated our gifts to help the a local family whose 19 month old son is currently in MCG on life support. This happened on 9-9-09, he still has not woken, and he needs a miracle. As I was praying and asking God what he wanted us to do with the money, I received an email from my friend that the family's insurance is now maxed out. I knew right then and there, that was where God was telling me to use my blessing from Cedar Creek Church!! They are up against the biggest battle of their lives and since we are so blessed and fortunate in our lives we truly feel this family could use a little blessing of their own. Like you always say, it's amazing how God works..."
"My parents were Christians and also part of a "gang". Actually not "a gang",but a group of 5 other couples who called themselves "The Gang". They attended church together,played and partied together, and had most of us children during the same 15years. We had so much fun! Last year when my Father died, he left behind 3 remaining members of The Gang and joined the other 8 in Glory. I have always been in contact with the with one of the couples who were my parents' 2 best friends. Last week the husband died. His wife is one of my treasured other Mothers. Through the years she has shared with me that their finances were tight. She is doing okay since his passing, but has told me that she wonders about her financial future, among other things. I got $20 in my envelope on Sunday. I clipped the article from The Standard about what CCC is doing and sent her the money with a little more added. (I bet lots of people are doing that.) I thought if I did not add the article she might not accept the money. :-) It has totally blessed me to give back the tiniest portion to her for all the love and faith and laughter she has poured into me for 58 years."
"We received $30 at the 9/27 worship service to be used to reach out to needs in our community. We decided to try to help the sheltered women and children at the Cumbee Center in Aiken. We called to inquire about their needs and were told they had an urgent need for paper supplies and cleaning supplies. We then added $50 of our own money and purchased $80 worth of tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, liquid cleaners and a floor mop. We took them to the Cumbee Center and received a very warm welcome along with sincere thanks for thinking of those who are being cared for in their shelter. We know that this Cedar Creek outreach project will impact a number of less fortunate folks in the Aiken area, and we are proud to have been a part of this "Be the Church" effort."
"My husband, mother who is visiting and myself had $50 given to us collectively last Sunday. During the week my mom and I went to see my mother-in-law at the nursing home to feed her her lunch. While there we overheard one of the workers talking about how she was overdue on her electric bill and if she didn't pay they were going to cut her off. She said she was going to have to get a second job and my Mom and I looked at each other and said what do you think and immediately decided to give her the $ and help her out. I told her this was from our church and she had a big smile on her face and I told her "God bless you" as I gave it to her. She gave me a hug and said thank you so much!. What a great feeling to be able to help her out!"
"I just wanted to share the blessing that I have recieved by participating in BE the Church! As a little background, I have been attending CCC for about 5 years and privleged enough to be in a fantastic home group! For multiple reasons (work, travel, and general "busyness") I have missed several Sunday services over the past three months. I almost missed Sundays service and even once I got there I was preoccupied with guilt over missing services and getting behind in my monetary contributions. I did manage to listen to most of the service and when Phillip announced what was in the envelopes, I immediately felt even more guilty, my first thought (like many others) was to put the money back into the offering with my overdue contribution. Of course just as I completed that thought, Phillip reminded us of our responsibility to our community and most importantly to God. I prayed about what to do with my envelope before opening and immediately a friend that has been going through some tough times financially and spiritually came to mind. God spoke to me and i knew that I was supposed to pay off one of her credit cards. I had offered financial assistance before and she wouldn't accept, but this time was different as the money was not coming from me but from God. I called her immediately (she was at another church) and told her what I needed to do. Neddless to say there were tears of joy from both of us and she had shared with me that she had been driving around before church and praying for something positive to happen, to lift her spirits and help renew her faith. The entire day Sunday was a blessing, I paid the bill and gave her my envelope to "Pay it Forward"! She is already planning to bless someonelse in the community. I am sending this message forward to convey the blessing that I received not in only hellping a friend but in doing so through God! He makes all of the difference! Praise God, continue to Bless our church and community!"
"I very sleepily entered church Sunday and was handed an envelope. I assumed it was a profound statement typed on a piece of paper that would inspire me throughout the week. I was given strict instructions not to open it until the Pastor explained it in more detail. I pushed the envelope behind all of the bulletin information I had in my hand. The sermon was about how, even one person, even one small deed, can make a huge difference in a person's life. At the end of the sermon, we were told that our envelopes contained, of all things, money. Thoughts immediately flooded my head. Wow, I thought, gas money for this week. How did they know? Oooh.. Better yet, I could just return it to the offering plate, so that the church could reap the benefits. Before I spent the money too many times in my head, I heard the two stipulations given by Phillip. Don't put the money back in the offering plate and don't spend it on yourself. Well, there went all my ideas. Then, he began to give us examples of how we could really "Be" the church in our community. He told us that spending the money, regardless of the amount, would be very difficult and we would really ponder over how to spend "God's money." I opened my money in the car and my girls immediately said, "Yay! We're going out for Mexican!!" I explained this, now, tremendous task we were given. As I pulled up in my neigborhood, I immediately knew who needed to be blessed with God's money. I have known my neighbor for years. She and her husband are an older couple who adopted very young children. Recently, he was admitted into a nursing home and she has been suffering financially and emotionally. I understand how she feels because my father had a similiar way of life before he passed away. I feel the pain she feels when she is torn between buying milk and bread and paying someone gas to take her to the nursing home to visit him. My oldest daughter took her a card with the money in it. I explained to her how much we loved her and how we wanted to be a part of helping her. She knew it had something to do with our church. She cried when she opened it and she was absolutely speechless. Tonight she called to tell me that she read the article in the paper and had a better understanding of how we were trying to "Be" the church. With her money, she paid for her husband to receive the first haircut he had been able to receive since his admittance to the nursing home. Also, it was enough to put towards his next cut. She read him the card and she said tears came to his eyes. Thank you for allowing me to help such a special family in their time of need."
"I was not in church the morning the envelopes were handed it out, but received two calls following the worship service from friends who couldn't wait to tell me about it. One was from my Home Group leader.
I was overwhelmed to hear of it. It was an amazing thing that Cedar Creek did to demonstrate God's love in the community.
But, I was so frustrated I wasn't there to be a part of it and kept thinking about all the ways I would have used the money whenever my Home Group talked about it.
I was on the way to the drugstore today and drove past a man and a woman who had pulled off the side of the road. The hood of their van was up and it was obvious they were having car trouble. God touched me when I saw them. I drove to the nearest ATM where I withdrew some money and headed back the way I came to find them. I parked my car near theirs and approached them. The gentleman was on the phone with a towing company, but I spoke to the woman. I told her about the wonderful thing Cedar Creek church had done, instructing its congregation to pay it forward. Then I handed her the money and told her I wished it would help them with whatever expenses they would be faced with -- whether it be car repair costs or something else.
I could tell she was speechless. I wished her luck and said they would be in my prayers.
And, I drove away with the greatest feeling in the whole world. I have riding the emotional high ever since!
Thanks for letting me share my story."
"I have to be honest and say that I haven't been as excited as some people about doing the hands-on ministry thing on Sunday....until last night. My husband visited yesterday with the family we will be helping on Saturday and Sunday, that we got connected with through United Way's Vision program. It's a disabled grandma, temporarily taking care of 2 grandchildren, one autistic and one a toddler. They live in a trailer that had no running water until my husband made a temporary repair last night that they will fix permanently on Sunday. There are actual wholes in the floor of the trailer that they can feel the wind blow through when it blows. This grandmother likes to read but broke her glasses awhile back and hasn't had the money to get new ones. We are applying our "church money" towards an eye exam and new glasses on Saturday. When my husband was telling me all of this last night, he said, "Don't be sad honey, God is going to use us to help her". But I went to bed and cried anyway. Broken, that's my heart for this lady, and I haven't even met her yet. Thank you, Phillip, for pushing us out of the nest. We needed it. I get it now. I'll do my very best to serve in our Lord's name and give HIM all the glory. I get it."
"I wanted to share with you my experience this morning passing on the envelope that was given to me Sunday. I know that you said that you had struggled with giving such a large amount of money away. I just want you to know that it was such a wonderful idea and everyone that I shared the story with has been absolutely amazed and the response has been of praise.
My envelope contained $20. Now to some of us, $20 is well, $20. But what responsibility I felt knowing that I must do the right thing with the money and make sure that it was used the best way I could think of. I never knew $20 could cause me to be so strained!
I have volunteered at Christ Central a few years back and have seen the economic status of the folks who use their services. I drive past Christ Central during the weekday mornings and on Tuesdays’ they line up to receive food for the first 60 people in line. After some thought, I knew that this is where I was going to give my envelope.
This morning I stopped and a few ladies had already gathered. I started talking with them about Christ Central. As I was talking, God guided me to give my envelope to one of the ladies. I apologized to the others that I did not have an envelope for everybody. I had previously written on the envelope, “A gift from God” and I handed it her and said to her “May God bless you”. She just looked at me and I smiled and told her it was a gift from God.
As I was leaving, she came up to my vehicle with tears in her eyes thanking me so much and gave me a hug. She said that I had no idea how much it was needed and began to tell me some of her troubles. I told her not to thank me but to thank God. With tears in her eyes she looked up to heaven and said, “Thank you God”.
Phillip, I know that this was not suppose to be a blessing for us. But I feel absolutely blessed that Cedar Creek allowed me to share in such a awesome experience. My heart right now is full and I have tears in my eyes writing this to you. I will never look at $20 the same way again.
Thank you and may God bless you, your family and the Church always"
"Hey Guys! It's Sunday afternoon and I just had to share with you guys
what God had me do with the blessing He sent me out with. My envelope
contained $10 and before I even left the parking lot I was
contemplating all the ways that it could be used to bless someone.
Should I pay for somebody's gas, maybe a meal at the Mcdonald's drive
thru, part of someone's grocery bill? The options were endless and I
was totally pumped to go out in search of that "random act of
blessing". On the way home we passed by the laundry mat and I knew
that's where God would have me to go. So this afternoon I loaded up my
three kids and set off to let someone know that God cares about
everything about them, even their laundry. I can't begin to tell you how
excited the kids were, there really are no words to describe it. There
was only one man at the laundry mat and I'm sure he was initially leary
of the crazy blonde and 3 little kids telling him to "Stop, we want to pay for that
wash!" I told him I was from cedar creek church and that I had been
blessed to be a blessing to him. He hesitated and showed me his change
and said that he really did have enough to pay and I told him God
still wanted to pay for his wash and he could take his laundry money
and be a blessing to someone else. He told me he was saved and
believed in Christ but that he didn't have a church home right now so
I invited him to ours. I'm praying that he'll come. We then loaded up
4 more washers with the money we had left and taped notes to them
saying "your laundry is payed for", circled up and prayed for the
people that would use those washers and praised God for the blessings
that He's given us and the opportunity to bless someone else. I can't
wait to see and hear about al the other ways God will touch this
community through this. Thank you for following His vision and
stepping out in faith. I love you guys."
"From Sunday’s community giving – My husband and I received monies which we are using to take an individual shopping who is disabled and does not receive much. Her clothes are limited and we in prayed about this and came up with many ideas. We thought she is the most needy. We wanted to give something to someone in the community that does not receive much. She is one of many individuals that we serve that are in need."
"Two friends of mine and I planned to go to lunch today. "Where do you want to go?" she asked. "How about O'Charley's?" I said. She exclaimed, "Oh, we are in for a divine appointment today! I knew if you said that God had something big planned. We'd both been waiting for our chance to bestow our "blessings" as I had received $50 and she got $100. We knew that we wanted to find out as much as we could about our server. She was young and had no wedding ring. When she returned with our order, we asked her if we could pray for anything for her. "I just got a wisdom tooth pulled, and it's killing me! Other than that, no." So we prayed. My other two friends had been watching an elderly woman behind me all the while and were feeling that my friend needed to bless that woman. She seemed alone, and we wondered if she came there frequently. We spoke to her waitress and unfortunately she'd already paid her bill, but my friend arranged to give her a $50 gift card and give the remaining $50 to the waitress. She was excited to get to bless both of them. We talked to our waitress a little more and discovered that she was working, in school, had to go on Medicare to cover these dental bills and had kids. She was only 24 years old, the same age as the daughter of one of the friends eating with me. That friend was planning to leave a generous tip herself. I expected that my family would find a use for my money, but I felt like I had to do something for this young woman serving us. I decided to give my $50 and the friend who'd already used her $100 contributed another $50. This gal got a $100 tip! We had a blast doing it. It was a blessing to be a blessing!"
"My husband is a Vietnam Veteran and my son is in the Marine Corps. We are a very patriotic family. When we received the money on Sunday, my husband said he knew just the place to make a donation. My sister immediately wanted to include her envelope of money toward the donation. I called the Georgia War Veterans Home (known as the Blue Goose) and asked what was needed by the Veterans. She gave me a great idea, I went and purchased a CD/DVD player at Walmart and my husband delivered it to the Blue Goose. The person I spoke with was very appreciative and said we had made many of the Veterans very happy and that they would receive hours of enjoyment using the CD/DVD player. I'm glad we were given the opportunity through BE The Church to give this donation to well deserved Veterans and to let them know that this idea was from Cedar Creek Church. Thank you Cedar Creek Church."
"It has taken us all week to "bless" someone with the money we received at church last Sunday. It was such a burden on my heart. I wanted to spend God's money wisely. My envelope had $50 in it and my husband's had $10. I had thought about donating it to a drug store so they could give it to someone who couldn't afford their medicine. I went to Kroger's and I was told to call the head pharmacist after lunch and he would be able to help me. In the meantime, I went for a walk with my next door neighbor. She is a member of another church but happened to attend Cedar Creek's West Campus last Sunday. She told me of a family in need and said she had given her money to them. The husband walked out leaving a wife and 4 boys on their own. As she told me the story, my heart broke for this family and I knew we were supposed to help them. We gave the money to them this afternoon and I know it will be used wisely. The woman was so appreciative. She told us of other blessings she had recently received and viewed them as God's way of letting her know he was right there with her and would continue to take care of her. I feel we were blessed by getting to know her. Thank you for giving us this opportunity."
"I gave my unopened envelope to a young veteran and his wife (+infant) who appeared to be financially down. I spent some time explaining why I liked Cedar Creek so much. He was quite appreciative and said they would attend sometime soon."
"I wanted to take a moment to let you know what a true blessing you are. I have been very down lately, between troubles at work, school, and home. I am a single parent who has raised my son alone since he was a year old. It has been a long hard road, but with God's help and blessings from friends and family, I have survived. However, my son has been in some trouble lately and my heart has been in great turmoil lately. Even when your children are grown, they are still your children. Your heart breaks in two when you can't reach them and you see them going down the wrong path. This paticular Sunday, I took the long way to my church, to get a few moments to just breathe, pray, and cry. I prayed that the lord would give me just a little break before I completely fell apart. Within the hour, I received a phone call from an angel with the blessing from your church. She shared the story of what your church was doing and as she cried, she said her choice was to help me out with one of my bills. You will never know how much that meant to me at that moment. God is truely wonderful and there for you. To me, this was a miracle. The envelope had a hundred dollars in and my friend put a little extra with it. Now for the amazing part...the next day a neigbor told me that one of their friends was getting laid off and needed some money to support their family. I have a tree that needs to be cut down, but I needed a few hundred dollars to do so. My neighbor said he would cut me a deal and probably do it for a special price...$100. Thank you so much for this gift and the reminder that God is there for me when I need him. Bless all of you."
"God provided an amazing day in Aiken, South Carolina. We witnessed our Cedar Creek family providing free car washes, offering drive through prayer, shopping for groceries for needy families, and working on projects throughout the community. We started our day at Waffle House, leaving a generous tip for a surprised server, then on to My Father's House to see if anyone needed a living room set we were giving away. Debbie Lamb shared with us the amazing story of this special ministry and told us how God had blessed and continued to bless this project. Today God's blessing included a mass of people working feverishly on repairs to the house, painting and yard work. We learned from Debbie that basic supplies were needed for the women in the house, and we provided some of those items. We could feel God's presence today as we shared the love of Christ with our neighbors."
"Our Home group had a wonderful time providing a meal for the senior citizens of Windham House today. Windham House is an independent living apartment building for low income seniors. Rent is based on their income as well as their expenses, including their medical bills. Many also receive Meals On Wheels and Senior Food from ACTS. The residents were so thankful that we cared enough to bring this meal to them. Of course they said we were a blessing to them but as you know we always receive the blessing when we try to provide one. One lady was so excited we were coming that she had called her church to tell them she would not be there this Sunday because God was coming to her home today. It was a great time talking with them while we shared the meal. They invited us to come back anytime and said that we didn't need to bring food, but just come to talk. We had prepared so much food that every resident got a to go box with enough food for at least one more meal that they could take back to their room. Even after that there was enough left over that my wife and I made a stop at Christ Central on the way home to leave it there. When we were exiting Christ Central we noticed a young woman leaning against the building and crying. Needless to say when we talked to her there was a story of extreme need for her family underneath the tears. We knew this was who our envelope money from last Sunday was supposed to go to. Though the distress of the woman at Christ Central took some of the glow off our experience at Windham House, it was so revealing of how God continues to place those in need in our paths whenever He wants and wherever we are. And that he has provided in advance for us to meet those needs. What a awesome day the Lord has given us!"
"Well this weekend I was so excited to go out and "BE" the Church, but unfortunately my Son and i both came down with a sinus infection, I was super bummed that we couldn't go to My Fathers House and help out, but Hubby reminded me it was in everyone's best interest that we stay home and rest.my husband came in from doing yard work around 3pm..took one look at me and said lets get you out of the house even if it's to just get some sudafed(sp?) Ugh..he drags me to walmart..I start to complain "couldn't we just have gone to cvs??? "No we need eggs and bread too" was his reply..I start to disagree but notice he's looking for something in his pocket...he hands me his church envelope, asks me if I have mine..i get it out of my purse and we were off..we bought some sudafed for me(with our own money ) and then pretty much started walking up and down the check out isles. I decided to hang back and let my husband decide..he's really shy and it comes off as rude to most people here in the South.So i could see that he wanted to pick someone then have me "do it' we we're about to give up when he spotted this little old lady in line in one of those scooters, she reminded me of my grandma, she was wearing those compression socks and i know that even getting out can be really painful for people with diabetes or vein problems. My grandmother passed on years ago, and unfortunately when she died we were on really bad terms. so my breath caught a little in my throat before i approached her. I'm usually so friendly and outgoing, but I was really nervous! what if she was mean to me? what if she rejected the blessing? (how many times have I rejected God's blessings in my life!!!) I asked her if she needed help unloading her groceries onto the belt and she said" would you dear?" So i did. I noticed she had a pink bowling pins and ball set (really small) and I said "these are cute" she told me they were for her great granddaughters birthday, she asked me if I thought a 3 year old would like them. I said "any child would like them, especially from their great grandmother! (at this point tears are stinging my eyes, I'm thinking this lady probably thinks I'm nuts!) Her total came up and she started to get out her check book and i just said ma'am, i was blessed with this envelope last week and i was wondering If I could pay for your groceries? she looked confused, tears welling up in her eyes, and said "you want to pay for my groceries??? I simply said yes I would. I didn't get into the whole it's from our church thing etc...so I paid at this point we were both tearing up, the cashier was in shock and everyone else in line was grinning at us! so i had my money plus hubby's money..her total bill was 58 and some change!!(we had 60 total in our envelopes How awesome is that!!! I made sure the clerk gave the lady the change told her to have a blessed day. I went to find my hubby who was spying on us (LOL) he told me to take our son to the car and he would help the little old lady to her car and unload. phew...sorry this was so long! Hubby told me she said to him that we we're angels and that it 's been a long time since she's been able to get out on her own, she said she's used to her husband going to the store but he had recently passed. Hubby came back to the car really silent..all he could say was ..man that was hard! that's our story."
"I’m sure you know this already, but we serve an awesome God! After receiving our money last Sunday, my wife and I began praying about how the Lord would have us use it. Monday morning, I received an e-mail about a family with a small child on life support in the hospital. Their insurance had maxed out, and this friend was seeking donations to help them. BINGO! I knew what to do with the money. Then my wife called me to tell me she had just learned about a former co-worker whose son had just had surgery for a brain tumor, and they were in and out of the hospital , so she thought that would be a good use for the money. My wife also mentioned a friend who is always doing nice things for people. This woman is like a charity super-hero and my wife thought it would be good to do something nice for her just to say “Thanks”. Now my clear cut answer wasn’t so clear. SOoooo, we said “why not add some more money to what we have, and do all three?” Which is what we did. Then the light came on! This was exactly what God had in mind! I’m sure we weren’t the only ones who added more to what we received. So, like the loaves and fishes, God took what we had and multiplied it, which in turn blessed both the giver and the receiver. WOW, what a Great God!"
"The Smith home group's activity was to provide a BBQ lunch to the residents and their children at the Cumbee Center. When I approached the Cumbee Center about providing a meal- Paul (works at Cumbee Center and also attends CCC) told me that the Garcia Home group was also going to be there doing yard work and cleaning ceiling fans. Paul got me in touch with Cruz Garcia and I asked him if his home group would stay after their work was done and eat with us and the residents. They did, which was great because none of our group had met anyone from there group - it was nice to get to know other people from our church. Our group had the most interaction with the resident's children. We had brought toys, baseball bats and balls, footballs, coloring books, etc. for the children and it was a pleasure to see their eyes light up with excitement. One little girl said - Is this all for us? We spent most of the time playing with the kids until the BBQ was done and then we all sat down for a meal together."
"I know it's long but please read! Ok, so September 27, 2009 was the first time in a really long time that I attended church. The only reason why I was even up early enough to go that morning was because I was having car trouble, otherwise I would have slept till about noon. My friend woke me up around 8 that morning so I could take care of my flat, and bald tire. He woke me up that early because he was invited to go to church and was still leaving himself enough time to be as pretty as can be. I took care of my tire and went home with all intentions of passing out in my comfortable bed once more, but my roommate was up and was preparing to go to church. He asked if I were doing anything and I had no plans, but for some reason I felt like that day would have just been a good day to go to church (seeing how it was Sunday and all)! So we headed to Cedar Creek Church's main campus to attend the 11o'clock service. As you know during that service we received the envelope of money and were told to bless another's life with whatever was in it. So after we left, my friend and I were tossing ideas back and forth about what to do with the money. We had not opened our evelopes yet when I thought of my idea, and I said that I was not going to open it. Whatever the amount that is in the evelope is supposed to be used for the person that I decide to give it to. And I thought that it would be a bigger, better, and more meaningful suprise to the person that I decided to bless. That, and I also didn't want to tempt myself into not fulfilling the objective if you know what I mean. And the person that came first to my mind was my Co-Worker. She has it pretty tough right now if you ask me. She has three kids, and is going through a separation now with her husband. If anybody could use a blessing I couldn't see how she could not qualify. So the next day I worked with her I handed her the closed envelope and told her why I had it and what it was for. She imediately grew a smile and gave me a hug, and kept repeating "Thank You, that's so sweet". I jokingly said "Now don't get too happy, there might only be like a $5 bill in there". We laughed and she said "That doesn't matter, the fact that you thought about me is worth more than what is in this envelope". I'm not going to lie, I teared up a little. But sure enough when she opened the envelope there was a $100 bill sitting right there! She grinned from ear to ear, laughing and hugging me, and went right into telling me what she was going to use that money for. All of her ideas for the money completely circled around what she needed for her children. I think that is so wonderful! Most people I know would have mentioned video games, or shoes and clothes, but she took immediate responibly for her main priority and I have no one other than God to thank for making it easier on her. Chip Herring is one of my best friends, and he is in charge of 'Merge', which is held every Thursday night at 9 at Cedar Creek Chuch. I told Chip this same story and he was really impressed with me and felt joy for the lady I helped, whom he does personally know. At first I just thought that this was just another good bedtime story, but Chip really helped me to see the power behind all of the small, but significant detail. He opened my eyes to see what amazing things God can do for us in our lives."
"Thirty Dollars…Countless Blessings
After the pastor explained the church was giving $50,000 back, in small increments to be used to bless someone, he allowed us to open the sealed envelopes. Each contained a single currency bill ranging from $5.00 to $100. My wife and I were holding $30 dollars between us. We discussed with our HOME Group whether to pool the money but our leader suggested and all concurred that we might penetrate deeper into the community, and listen closer to God if each couple had the privilege to be led to the blessing. After HOME group meeting that night my wife and I realized we didn’t know what to do with the money. It was in that listening moment that we were given the idea to call a dear friend and teacher at Batesburg-Leesville Elementary School. Perhaps she had a student who needed shoes. She had no such students, but saying “We have a wonderful guidance counselor at the school” promised to check with her. The next day our teacher friend told us about a fourth-grader. He didn’t need shoes…but he desperately needed a winter coat. Although sick with a rotten cold, my wife insisted she go along and help pick out the gift. She found a wonderful coat with a hood. It was priced at $20 so she picked out a hat and gloves to match. Back at home she created a home-made card from her scrap-booking materials. On the front the card read, “For you because God loves you”. Inside it continued, “And we do too. Cedar Creek Church”. Then she wrapped the gift and left it with me for delivery. Today I left my meeting in Augusta about 1030 to drive to Batesburg-Leesville. I was late arriving for my appointment with the guidance counselor, having driven to the wrong school. I called her to tell her I was on the wrong side of town. She said I was only ten minutes away so she would go get the young man. As I was checking in at the school, the guidance counselor came around the corner accompanied by a skinny, soft-spoken, polite boy whom she introduced to me. She then led us into the staff conference room. As God would have it my being late was a blessing, because it allowed our teacher friend’s class to be in recess and she came to the school office to check to see if all had gone well. As it turned out she was there in time to see the young man open his present. I explained to the two ladies what Cedar Creek Church was doing, and I explained simply to The boy that our church wanted him to have a present. What a polite child – he was not greedy, but with self-discipline I doubt I could have mustered at his age, tried for minutes to open the present without tearing the paper. We told him it would be okay to rip the wrapping. He tried on the jacket, hat and gloves, all of which fit perfectly. He also read the card aloud. We three adults were on the edge of a tear-fest. The counselor helped him pack his hat and gloves into the zipper pocket, along with the card, so his dad would understand how his son came by these new items. He posed for a photograph, thanked me softly, shook my hand and returned to lunch.
I know the purpose was to extend blessings into the community but I underestimated the ability God has to bless. The story of this young man’s coat was like the five loaves and two fishes. He was blessed, certainly. And I believe his father will be as well. But that thirty dollars also renewed the spirits of a teacher, a guidance counselor, a creative wife and a guy driving around lost in Batesburg-Leesville."
"My husband and I have been Homegroup Leaders for almost two years now and Homegroup members for almost seven years. Our Homegroup participated in the “Be the Church” Outreach on Sunday, October 4th and it was such a great experience. Our “planned” activity was to reach out to the students at USCA, but God had additional plans for us that day. We were able to reach out to the people at the Down’s syndrome Buddy Walk. We had about 100 or more hot dogs left over from our project, so we walked them down to the baseball stadium. One of my co-workers (who attends a church in Augusta) was working at the event, handing out hot dogs. He told me today at work what a blessing the additional hot dogs were. After all of the hotdogs including what we gave them were given out, they had only 7 left! My co-worker said what a testament to the love of Christ it was to see all of the Cedar Creek members at the Buddy Walk in their “Be the Church” t-shirts.
In addition, to the above outreach opportunities our group had on Sunday, I wanted to share with you the opportunity and privilege that God has set before our Homegroup for Saturday 10/10. At the beginning of the year, we had a couple attend our Homegroup. They only came for about two meetings and stopped coming to group and to church due to some marital difficulties. Two Sunday’s ago, the wife contacted me asking for help, particularly help with moving as the house is getting ready to be foreclosed. Her situation has become very bleak. She has no income and four children to care for, she told me that “it’s now a matter of survival” for her and the children. I was completely overwhelmed by her boldness and willingness to seek assistance with her situation. I know that it was not coincidental that the prior week’s devotional was on the “Lens” in our Faith in Action book. I approached our Homegroup about the situation and the response I received was amazing-I’ve never seen so many people jump at an opportunity to help someone in need. Everyone in the group is planning to meet on Saturday to help her and the children move. One person in the group said she was so excited that we will have the opportunity to “Be the Church” again and for such a dire need! In addition, our group collectively decided to pool our “Bless Back” Money and we collected about $175 from that to help with her expenses. The members of our group have really felt called to care for this person and her children and since Sunday, we have collected an additional $575.00 for a total of $750.00. While talking with her, I asked her if there was anything that she needed for the house and she told me that she did not have a bed to sleep on. Again, I approached the group about it and one couple has an extra bed in the attic, one couple has a bed frame and yet another couple has bedding for the bed! We are planning to bring it to her on Saturday. I don’t want to sound like I am boasting about our group, because we know that it’s not about us, it’s about how Christ is working through us. So, I am making my “boast in the Lord” - 1 Corinthians 1:31 and what He is doing! I just wanted to share how much of an impact this campaign as had on the hearts of our members! I think everyone in the group understands what it means to “Be the Church”.
I can’t tell you how blessed we feel to be the leaders of such a wonderful and dedicated group of people. My husband and I are so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to partner with the members of our HOME group to help this person and her children and truly show the love of Christ by putting all of our faith in action.
Thank you so much! It’s been a life changing series."
"I received my envelope and in it was $10 I prayed to God to help me decide who to bless with this money. I read an article in the Aiken Standard last week about a 79 yr old woman who's house burned down, when she and her grandson went to church. The story touched my heart and I decided this is who I would give my money to. I called the newspaper and found out some information on how to get the money to her.I doubled my $10 and sent her $20.If anyone else is looking for someone to help here is a link to the story that was in the Aiken Standard http://www.aikenstandard.com/results/0917Fire Thank you Cedar Creek Church for such a wonderful experience, so proud to be a part of it."
"Our group had decided to purchase large print Bibles to be delivered along with our meals. My husband and I delivered a meal to one man who has been dealing with diabetes and recently had to go to the hospital. He had a wonderful smile and attitude and assured us he was just fine. We saw a Holy Bible on his kitchen table. My husband gave him the one we brought and he was so thankful! It seems the diabetes has affected his eyesight and he has had trouble reading his! God is good!! We sure do count our blessings."
"My husband and I attended service and received $15.00 total my husband got a $10.00 and I got a $5.00. I can tell you that after hearing all the things we could do with just $5.00, the combined $15.00 we had felt like endless opportunities. I decided that I would ask my kids what they thought we should do. So on our way home I said, 'hey girls if we had money to do what ever we wanted what would you do with it?'ÂÂ I was pleasantly surprised. If I had had any reservations as to my faith in God or the difference Cedar Creek Church has made in my families lives it disappeared that instant. My 5 year old said, 'you know mommy we could give it to...' and started listing people she knew who were in need.ÂÂ In my opinion if a 5 year old is told hey I have some money and we can do whatever you want they are going to say 'Oh lets buy this toy or go to the movies,'ÂÂ or something along those lines. I was ecstatic to see that she had learned to love her neighbor and put others before her self. This shows me how much of an impact CCC Kidz Creek is having on my children. I love it! We had so many ideas flying around we decided we would not make a hasty decision, but give it some time, having faith that God would lead us in the right direction. Well he did. That same weekend a co-worker of my husband's past away leaving behind 2 children. My husband decided he would give it to the family to help with any thing they might need. The following weekend I attended an event for my 5 year olds school and they were taking up donations for a scholarship fund. I thought this is it. I will give my money to support education, a gift that keeps on giving, and so I did. I was elated everything felt right. It's amazing what we can do when we tune into God with our eyes, ears, and hearts. The power of God's broadcast is awesome and we are tuned in and getting great reception. "
"We received $120 and decided to help two individuals at Tri Development Center. They had lost their home and had no furnishings. We had to find a new home because their boarding house had closed. They have no family and no other support system except for Tri Development Center. It truly was a blessing to be able help them with the necessities for every day living. We have so many people at Tri Development Center that need assistance that it made it dificult to decide until this event had occurred. I am looking forward to the mission on November 14th where anyone can volunteer to work on roofing our two buildings on Vaucluse road. It has been a blessing for me to work here and daily give back to the handicapped and disabled individuals in Aiken County. The lord has opened my heart so in November we will be helping with the roof project. Thank you God!"
"We had asked our H.O.M.E. Group to be prepared to share ideas about what our project for "Be The Church" Sunday would be. Since no one offered up a suggestion immediately, I shared my passion for people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Our church had recently received a call from Hitchcock Assisted Living because one of our members had recently moved there. This actually was the second meeting I had taken part in with directors there initiated by the facility. This also happens to be the facility that I had been praying for seven years that my elderly mother would move into since my father, who was her care-giver, had passed away. Our Group was eager to meet their need so we proceeded making our (God's) plan. The following Sunday as were standing and singing together "Savior, He Can Move The Mountains" I prayed that God would move the huge mountain of my Mom's strong will, pride and independence that was keeping her from doing what we all knew was in her best interest physically, emotionally, and relationally. I received a MIRACLE that afternoon as we returned home from an event at church and had a message on our answering machine from her that she was ready to make a change and move forward! As our Group went Sunday to worship with and serve the residents and staff at Hitchcock House, I had the privledge to introduce my mother to my dear Homies and be at "Church" with her!! Also, over the two weeks preceeding, I was able to establish relationships with all the residents and staff which made it even more special. I now have peace concerning my Mom, wonderful new friends, and another story to tell and share about just how much my God loves me and us."
"Jarvis Home Group -Our group went to the laundromat in Mitchell Shopping Center. We took coffee, juice, muffins and fruit for a "brunch." We offered to pay the cost of people's laundry and offered detergent and dryer sheets. We also took coloring books and crayons for the children.One of our group swept the floor. We encountered quite a diversity of people. A young couple with a little boy was grateful for our help. One woman was from Tampa and is in Aiken for a month doing benefits meetings in the school. She did not want us to pay for her laundry, but wanted to know why we were there and we were able to tell how God led us. We found a Cedar Creek member who had not been to church in several months because of surgery on his feet. We told him we would be looking for him at church. A young woman from another state who moved here to work took our picture with her phone and said she could not wait to get to work and tell about what we did. We also met a man who is in Aiken for one year on a construction project and invited him to worship with us. We also met a woman who was a scientist and very convinced of evolution and did not believe in heaven and hell. Our member who talked with her emphasized relationship, not religion."
"What a Great God we serve!!! Our HOME group did yard work and inside work at the Cumbee Center. Another HOME group cooked an awesome meal for the residents and our HOME group (Thanks again!). Hopefully this is just the begining of an ongoing outreach ministry. What a blessing we received!! During the service when we learned that money was in the envelopes we received, the Holy Spirit laid on my heart to match the unknown amount in each envelope. And then on the way home HE said, add $100 to that also. We opened our envelopes when we got home and we had $10 each. We prayed about who would receive God's blessing. Our HOME group pooled the money we received and gave it to the Cumbee Center, our HOME group also bought various items used by the residents. BE The Church did not end that day. My wife and I blessed a waitress with a $20 tip later in the week. I left a $20 bill at a local coffee shop to cover the costs for as many patrons that followed until the money was gone. Prayfully looking forward with great anticipation to see what the Lord is going to do in our community!!! What an awsome God we serve!!!!"
"I got twenty dollars out of my envelope. I bought my neighbor toliet paper, and other little things they were out of. And I bought my best firend lunch at Subway with the last $5.00 I had of they twenty. Bless You God for putting that thought in Phillip's mind."
"In the short time (just over a year) we've lived in this area my wife and I have been privileged to serve on a variety of projects. Several have been with the most talented, Christ centered, open armed group of people we've ever had the honor to work with, our Homegroup. In some of the projects we've participated in it's just the workers who assemble to accomplish a task. There's satisfaction in knowing the result of our efforts will be a blessing to someone in need. But nothing can compare to working shoulder to shoulder with the people who will "benefit" from our combined efforts. I emphasize "benefit" because it's hard to determine who receives the greater blessing. Seeing the smiles, the tears and the joy on the faces of people (God's people)experiencing the blessing of help and service from total strangers is as close to heaven as we can get in this world. We praise God for the opportunities He puts in our path to share His love with those in need. We only pray that He keeps our eyes open to recognize those who need an expression of His love through service and the ability and desire to continue to serve His people in whatever way He directs. What a blessing it is to belong to a part of the body of Christ (Cedar Creek Church) with such heart for a hurting community."
"Schutts/Butler Home Group members did yard work for an eldery woman. I don't know what to say other than we have an awesome group and an AWESOME church. Instead of talking I suggest you watch. Below are 2 links to two YouTube videos I made from our experience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8goGUFARuKc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R64RS2TWv0"
"I had received $20 in my envelope, and once in my car put it on my console in full view. I wanted to be careful with with how I spent it and provide it to someone with a "real need". As I thought, my thoughts kept coming back to someone at my office. You see just a couple of days before, one of my employees, shared what he had learned about this man. He is the gentleman that cleans our office. He was always polite and considerate and well kept. He had caught a bad cold as a result of riding home from work in the rain on his moped. Our office is in Aiken, and he rides his moped every day from Jackson. I had often wondered who owned the slightly rusted moped, and had noted that I didn't see a helmet. My employee commented, "you know those are the folks you hear about in accidents..." On Monday following the Sunday we received our envelopes, another employee who also goes to Cedar Creek aksed what I was going to do with my blessing. I shared that I couldn't think of anything besides something for this man, and I shared his story with her. She indicated that she planned to double her $50, and asked if she could join in with me. Together with my $20 that I also matched, we had $140. Later that day, we found out that this man didn't have a helmet because he couldn't afford it because they were about $50 or $60 dollars. I sent her out to Aiken Motorcycle, and we were able to purchase a helmet and rain suit for $138 dollars - Is that not amazing!!! I know this is getting long, but keep reading...the man didn't come to work the next day because he had an incident on his moped. He and the moped survived without serious injury, but he took a couple of days off to recoup. The helmet and rain suit sat for days in my office, and every day I thought about how he needed those more than the chair in my office. I was able to get his phone number and tell him about the Cedar Creek challenge and what we had for him. He was able to get a ride with a friend into Aiken and met me at the office. He was really touched. He also shared with us that he had been fired from his job - so our blessing was truly a blessing. Thank you!"
"I got 50$ and paid for the persons groceries behind me. I left before they knew."
"I was unable to attend the service when the envelopes were distributed. However, my daughter and husband relayed the message and the money. At first, I was overwhelmed with the responsibility of managing God's money. Then our family sat down and discussed what we would do with our combined $30. I thought of a dear young lady who just entered college hundreds of miles from home, family and friends. I remembered her talking about the work-study program and student loans. My daughter remembered her talking about how cold it was going to be at college. So we decided to send God's blessing and prayers to this young lady."
"My contribution to BE the Church was small, but had a big impact on me. I kept a 5-year-old occupied and happy for the day while his parents were working with others repairing a family's home and yard. What a blessing for ME!"
"The coolest thing! When we got our money a few weeks ago, I received $100! WIth such a large amount, I held onto the money wanting to make sure that I was getting the most blessing for my buck ;). I'm an English teacher at a local high school, so I have tons of real-life needs around me every day. Last week, I had a very quiet student come and ask me if I would like to buy a homemade c.d. for $2. She told me she was trying to raise money for her class ring. I told her that I would of course buy one, but that I didn't have change that day. When I went to get change, it dawned on me-- she needs this money! I was so excited because I couldn't think of a more deserving young lady. Today after class, I explained to her that my church had given me some money to just bless someone. When I gave her the money, she smiled the most beautiful smile and jumped out of her desk to hug me. Thanks so much for letting me be a part of this blessing!"
"My husband received $10 and I received $20 in our envelopes. We decided to match what we received and after much thought donated it, along with a little more, to a mother of 2 who has had a tough struggle. Her ex-husband has not been paying child support so money has been tight. After we made the decision to pass the money on to her, we found out that she had the flu the previous week, had to miss some work, and that her paycheck would be extremely short. Our timing couldn't have been better. She sent us a thank you note telling us that she had been praying that the Lord would watch over them and help them get through these hard times and that in her heart she knew that the Lord used us to help them. What a wonderful experience! My sister-in-law from PA was visiting us at the time and she received an envelope with $50 in it. She planned on purchasing phone cards for soldiers in Iraq and Afganistan with the money. She wishes that there was a Cedar Creek Church where she lives! I also had the feeling that I needed to include our family and friends in this experience. I sent a message to everyone on our email list explaining about Cedar Creek's BE the Church event and challenged them to also match the money we received and do an unexpected act of kindness in their own community. I have had the most wonderful responses from friends in PA, Florida, Texas, VA, other parts of SC, and even Germany and some of them are have also challenged their co-workers and friends to do the same. The $30 my husband and I received has been multiplied in so many ways."
"It wasn't until after a fews days of reflection that I relaized what an awesome experience I had and how this event impacted me. Our HG had a wonderful day, serving connecting and performing God's work. Our project involved feeding and serving meals to low income and senior residents at a local home. It was a wonderful experience to share that day with family and friends and illustrate for the children the example Jesus set for us. During the day I delivered a meal to a resident who could not make it down to the dining area. After meeting the gentleman, he asked I bring him some coffee. Before I left to get it we spoke breifly and I learned he was fighting cancer. Since our family has been going through this I was very sensitive to his situation and my heart went to him. I went down stairs and got his coffee and juice and returned to him with my wife in tow. We got to know this man a little and shared some of our expeiences and let him know he was not alone. God was with him and had a purpose for this. Without hesitation, we asked if we could pray over him and he gladly accepted. We prayed with him and as we were leaving relaized he had teared up and he asked us to please come back to visit him. We plan to do just that. What I realized is God was at work on me that day. This event has moved me much further in my walk with Christ and I matured spiritually. You see I have been attending church for only a few years after many, many years of walking away from God. Through the connection with CCC, my HOME Group and having God work in our lives as a family, I have become closer to God and stronger in my faith. Four years ago our family began a journey that I could never have managed on my own. God's strength and his people have been there for us. That said, just a few months ago I would have never imagined myself praying out loud much less praying over a complete stranger. The Be the Chruch project has been a tremendous blessing to me. I have often prayed that if placed in the path of someone in need or seeking God that I would know what to do and have the words to say. That Sunday my prayers were answered and cannot express how good this makes me feel. I plan to continue to visit my new friend and look forward to what God has in store for me."
"I received $50 from Cedar Creek to use to bless someone. Before I even opened the envelope, my best friend popped into my head. She and her husband have an extraordinarily tight budget already, but their 3 year old daughter was sick, their 7 year old daughter had pneumonia, and their air conditioner died and was going to have to be replaced. As soon as her name popped in my head, I began praying that I would know whether she was who God wanted to bless or not. By Tuesday I knew I had to give the $50 to her on Wednesday, so I contacted her that night and said we had to meet Wednesday. She knew I was having some medical issues, and I had just received a discouraging diagnosis on Friday, so she was very worried. However, I was able to assure her that I was okay and that I was just up to something. As we've known each other for fifteen years, and I've never been so insistent, she knew she had to see me Wednesday. In May I had bought a card to send her randomly to perk up her spirits. I put the money in the card, wrote her a note, and told her she could not open the trifold card until she had read everything. The note explained that God had used her to bless me throughout my life, including bringing me to Him, and I finally had been given the opportunity to be used to bless her in return. When she saw the $50, she began to cry. She then told me her story. She was down to her last $2, but not all of the checks she had written had gone through. Therefore, when her husband went to the ATM that morning, it said they had $50 left. He took out $10 for breakfast and lunch, so something was going to bounce when the checks came through. Due to that $50, she could put money straight into her account and prevent any checks from bouncing. She said she knew it was from God because He is the only one who could work something out so perfectly. It makes me thankful to Cedar Creek Church for being so faithful. I am also thankful to God for giving me a chance to be used by Him. I am also thankful that my best friend received exactly what she needed."
"When Phillip told us what the money in the envelop was for, he gave the example of leaving a really nice tip to a waitress. Immediately a waitress came to mind at a local restaurant that I frequent. It took a little longer than I was hoping due to her work schedule and mine, but I did it. I left the $20 in the envelope original with a church card and a personal note. The note read: 'This is NOT a tip. This is a gift from my church. No strings attached. Enjoy." I left the envelop with a 23% tip. All I know at this point is that I think I did my part. To me, the money was far more about getting us in the practice of blessing others with what we have, than it was about us "getting blessed.'"
"It's 3 weeks after Be The Church Sunday and my mother-in-love and I both had a burning to give some slightly used clothes to a "worthier," cause than Goodwill. We both felt like we were being directed to go somewhere special and we found the Cumbee Center Bargain Box, a place where battered women can go to get clothes after leaving an abusive home. We took our clothes this morning and told the young man that we found out about the place from our church Cedar Creek. He said, "Oh, I'm going there tomorrow morning. I haven't been to church since my father passed away years ago." Then he went on to say that a guy came in 2 weeks ago and gave him a card and an evelope with $10 in it and said to have a great lunch! That's why he decided to come to Cedar Creek after years of being out of church! The guy that gave it to him probably has no idea he's even going tomorrow! How cool is that?! To the awesome guy who blessed this young man-Thank you! You did exactly what you were supposed to do! God is so cool!"
"I prayed a lot for the Be the Church project. My dad recieved $20 from the BtC project, and so like Jesus' parable about the servants that used their "talents" that God gave them by making it greater, he gave both my little brother and I $20 also. Upon recieving a $20, I was disturbed. I had no idea, I the selfish only daughter that had always been eager to spend her money, so trying to figure out how I would spend the money became tough- but it made me feel cleaner too! I had always been so much more self-centered, now it was about how i would help others. What I did with my money, was from a prayer, a certain boy in a class of mine has had a very ill mother, and he seemed quite troubled about it. It really touched me so after prayer, I felt moved to help him. I gave them the twenty, and some other things. So now I can't stop giving- and LOVE IT! Finally I'm not squandering everything on selfish waste- I'm helping people, and it makes me feel so fulfilled, every time I see a need, I try to meet it! HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD?! I feel so much closer to Him now, it was the last pry that opened the clenched fist around my wallet. I'm so glad to have this Church family and to live in a place where we can worship freely! I'm joyful because of God's great works in our church and its' individual lives!"
"I am writing to share my story about how I used the money that was placed in our hands on Sunday, Oct 4. Today, I was off work and running some errands for my elderly parents. My work called and stated that there was a homeless woman who had been dropped off at a convenience store in town. I went to her and listened to her story about how she had traveled from Maine and was looking for warmer weather due to a muscular skeletal disorder that made her body ache. She seemed very intelligent but I knew there was an untold story about her dilemma. I arranged for her to stay in a motel over night - she needed a bath - and as I ran around trying to find resources for her, I remembered the $20.00 in my envelope. Before I left her, I shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with her. She told me that someone had stolen her Bible - I bought her another one and asked her to please use the money for things that would be pleasing unto God. She promised that she would. Please pray with me that the seed I planted will flourish and that just as you prayed, God will take that small amount of money and use it for His glory. Thank you for prompting me to "be the church". God Bless!"
