Holy Spirit was bubbling over in my heart.
"Come on! Get up! Get up!
It's going to be a GREAT day!"
It so reminded me of Christmas morning when the kids were small. Everyone knew that no one went down stairs to the Christmas tree until everyone was out of bed, faces washed and teeth brushed. Without fail, the first one awake, woke up everyone else. The air was filled with anticipation and excitement,
and we were never disappointed!
I wondered what God had in store for today. Oh yes... Pastor Dan at Harvest Tabernacle announced yesterday that tonight was the night they would be giving over 500 turkey baskets to those in need at a special Thanksgiving service. I had arranged to help out. Right at the moment I remembered that, the Holy Spirit jumped within me.
"That's it! That's it!" He shouted.
"I love when they do this!"
Quite frankly, after experiencing all that glee, I couldn't wait to attend the event myself. I'm fairly new to this church, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But at that moment, all I could wonder was...
"What is the Holy Spirit
doing in my heart?
Is He dancing?
It feels like He's having
His own private party!"
My friends Jim and Carolyn picked me up after dinner and we drove to the church together. We arrived just in time for a volunteer exhortation by the pastor. He doesn't like anyone to feel odd or embarrassed about being in need, so when they come in the door, we have a receiving line where everyone is clapping and whistling, shaking hands and greeting the people. There's lots of smiles and good cheer.
I found myself a place at the end of the receiving line and joined in the celebration. I never clapped so much in my entire life. I found myself shouting,
"Happy Thanksgiving!
We're glad you're here!"
Everyone filed into the sanctuary and found a seat. The place was filled to capacity. How great is that? The worship team put on a great concert and special guest, Sheila Raye Charles (the daughter of Ray Charles) belted out some awesome songs of inspiration and words of encouragement. Pastor Jim shared a short but inspiring message that concluded with just about everyone calling out to Christ for salvation. Finally, row by row, people went out the church and were given a box filled with food and a large, turkey. The food line was so busy. Carolyn and I were running back and forth, stocking the boxes with various foods. Everyone was happy and helpful, working together to make it all come together.
A lot of people will be eating a nice Thanksgiving meal due to the efforts and donations of many people and businesses.
But tonight was so much more
than a food basket!
At one point during the evening, Carolyn and I snuck up into the balcony where we could see, from above, the entire auditorium. I took a good look at the crowd. They were engaged in everything that was going on. Many had smiles on their faces. Some were clapping. Some were singing. Some were dancing. Some were praying. And then right in front of my eyes I saw it!
HOPE was filling their souls.
Ahhhh... a special touch by the Holy Spirit, Himself!
Actually, the Holy Spirit was all over the place tonight. He was in the welcoming shouts and hugs of the greeters. He was observed stirring the hearts of people during the concert. I witnessed Him quietly whispering to the souls of many during the pastor's message. I heard testimonies of His moving though prayer partners at the altar -- healing hurts and afflictions right there on the spot. And when things really got busy, He was seen time and time again in the smiles and kind gestures of all the volunteers that showed up to partner with Him. He used every one of them! It's no wonder He loves this event!
What is it that Jesus said? (Luke 10:27, my paraphrase)
If you're only going to do
two things right in this world...
(1) Love God with everything you've got!
- and -
(2) Love the people God puts in your life!
I saw evidence of both those things tonight,
while wearing my RED shoes
at The Harvest!
Gail
