Giving Tuesday is November 29th
Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday
by Elizabeth Dempsey
I love autumn. I love the fall colors and backyard bonfires, but I especially love Thanksgiving. I don’t think it’s about food and family, although I love that part. It is more about the principle of thanksgiving. The advent of Christmas each year is joyful. Our family reads through the Holy Scriptures each night of Advent, but before we do that, we give thanks.
Shifting my brain from the daily grind of my work to a posture of gratefulness takes a good amount of time. I have to keep my mind from racing ahead to the Christmas shopping. I can jump the line and begin worrying about finding the perfect gift for each person I love… and I love a lot of people. Every year is joyful. Even in the lean years, we had heaps of love. I intentionally choose to spend a season of giving thanks to prepare for the Thanksgiving season before it is overshadowed by Advent.
There is much to be thankful for. I’m not trying to be Instagram-fake. My life is not perfect. The seasons of darkness were deep and long. But as I reflect in an attitude of thanksgiving, I realize the seasons of healing and restoration now outshine the darkness.
Ann Voskamp says, “Count the ways He loves.”
God loves me in the big places, giving me devoted, loving friends. The LORD loves me in a restored blended family. Our children are grown, and some are married. We have a grandchild who sleeps each night wrapped in the love of a happy home.
My Heavenly Father loves me in the margins. I thank him for a soft blanket that calms me when I flop and fail. I am grateful for my house plants coming back to life after much neglect. I am thankful for my job, even though it brings some stress. I am thankful for my dogs, despite how they track mud from the back door to the front windows. I’m thankful for their nose-prints on the glass.
Most of all, I am thankful for the Body of Christ that I am honored to be a part of. I am thankful for their hands and feet that have ministered to me in the darkness, the scary places where I feared I would not survive. That is the church, yes, but that is also Battlefield Ministries.
The counselors and staff have ministered to me personally. They helped me find words for the unspoken brokenness. They helped me understand why I flop and flail and fail, but most of all, they led me to the feet of Jesus, the only True Source of healing.
For this, I am grateful.
Today, I entreat you to reflect with a heart of thanksgiving. Take a moment to breathe a prayer of thanks, if not for the big things, then for the margins where little blessings are found.
If you feel led, pray for Battlefield Ministries and consider donating. Help the ministry continue to reach more people as the hands and feet of Jesus.
Celebrate What God is Doing – International Trip to France
First Fruits By Nathan and Jane Phillips
God used our team from Battlefield to minister to people in a small township in France called Sougé. Our visit served to offer sustenance and encouragement. We were able to see the First Fruits of seeds that were planted years before.
Four years ago we were in this same place. A missionary couple moved to Tours after over 40 years of service to France and Africa to retire… and start a ministry in this small town. In another nearby town they bought a several-hundred-year-old building and are converting and renovating it into a church, which is in progress. She had gone house to house to invite everyone in this little country village to a meal in their back yard. We bustled about preparing food, tables, and place settings with flowers and scrumptious treats. The appointed time came and those of us who had been prepping sat with anticipation. And sat. And sat.
No one came.
This time, after four years and their continued efforts to reach out, offer relationship and presence, two efforts bathed in prayer were made; a Marriage Retreat and a Ladies Retreat. And again, many phone calls, invites, conversations, a brochure, and reservations were made. Through a diligent search God helped them find a perfect place for the marriage effort.
And they came.
Much could be said about what the Lord put on our hearts to share…
Did You Know?
The Rome office renovations are drawing to a close. We added office spaces and renovated them to match our downstairs. Aside from some touch-up paint and a few pieces of furniture, the renovations are complete. We have enjoyed the cozy new spaces for almost a year. They provide much-needed counseling offices and more administrative space. Clients and their families appreciate new and inviting waiting areas. These new spaces provide the room to offer more sessions to individuals and families.
Renovations Downstairs
New Counseling Space Upstairs
The Cartersville office relocated in 2022. We moved our satellite office in Cartersville to 650 Henderson Drive, Suite 435. We share office space with GRACE International Foundation, the ministry that Jon & Angie Sullivan have to Thailand. We gained office space in the move and are prayerfully anticipating what God has for that new space, including an interview with a new counselor in December.
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