LIFEPOINT GIVES BACK is a project to enable the people of Lifepoint to be generous with that which God has blessed us with! On Sunday, January 25th, 2009, Lifepoint Church gave its people $12,000 in cash. Each person was given a cash envelope filled with $10, $20, $100, $500 or $1000.
We have said over the past month that we need to create margin in our finances so God can use us to be a blessing. We as a church have created margin over the last several months in order to accomplish this. We truly believe that we need to lead by example.
Lifepoint Church - you are going to bless this community in such a way that has never been seen before! We look forward to hearing how God blesses you through your generosity!
This money was given with the following rules in mind!
1. You may not give the money back to Lifepoint Church.
2. You must use the money to bless someone else. This can be in any way you feel God
leading you.
3. You have to let us know how you spend the money.
On the bottom of this post is a small red link that says “LEAVE A COMMENT.”
We would love to know your name, how you blessed someone with this generosity, and how the recipient responded to your generosity.
129 Comments
We look forward to seeing how God is going to use you. Lifepoint Church - it truly is a blessing serving our community together - the Lifepoint Church Staff
My 19 year old is a full time student at JMU. She works 2 part time jobs to pay her bills. I am unable to help her monitarily, the way I would like to. This money ($500) is all going to her so that she can (1) feel the Blessing of God and (2) relieve some of the burden she feels every day!
We Love You Jessie…..GOD IS GOOD!
My family and I are blessed to call Lifepoint home. Our family has decided to combine all our money and pray over the next few days about how we are going to use it. My children are so excited to know that their small slice of generosity will help even the smallest bit for someone who needs it. Lifepoint is helping us reinforce teaching generosity and compassion to our children. and in turn, reminding me how important they both are. Lifepoint in known throughout our community (and perhaps soon the nation and world) as being an awesome place to worship, share and belong. Todays reverse tithing will go down in our community for generations to come. Once our neighbors, friends and family find out about what was done today, our doors wont be wide enough to hold the people coming in to see what we have. God bless each and every one of you Lifepointers as you seek out your plan of compassion and generosity.
Back at Christmas we bless a family that this 58 year old grandma that takes care of her Grandkids due to the daughter ran off with someone. This lady works two jobs just to put food on the table and has to ask stranger for rides due to not having a car. I decided to bless this lady with groceries. $10 didn’t go to far so I added some to this. We wanted to put the groceries on her porch and run…but she was looking out and came outside to Thank us and say this is Just want they needed for school in the morning. Thanks for giving back to us!!
The Furukawa’s pooled our money to give to a struggling single mom with 2 kids.
Five of us pooled our envelope money together to come up with $80. We then added $20 of our own for a total of $100 blessing to present. We chose to give all $100 dollars to our aunt Margaret who is on a fixed income and never has any money left over for herself. She also had to make some unexpected home and car repairs recently. Aunt Margaret always puts others before herself and we are hoping she will use the money to get a ahead or even do something nice for herself.
This is turning out to be an amazing experience for us. It is wonderful that Lifepoint Church placed trust in us to pass along this blessing. In the end we all have been blessed by being a part of this.
I came home from church and immediately called one of my co-workers. We teach 1st grade together and last week she had mentioned in passing that she has a student who did not always bring a winter coat to school. When I reached her, I told her about today’s church service and the ten dollars I had received. She told me she had purchased a coat for him recently, but he was in need of gloves and a hat. I took my 5 year old son out to the store with me and explained what we were going to do. We matched the church donation and bought this student a winter hat, mittens, a long sleeved shirt and ten pairs of socks. My son was so proud of himself that he called my co-worker back to tell her all the things he had been able to get for her student. Not only will Lifepoint have helped this student, but Lifepoint was also an example to my own son. THANK YOU LIFEPOINT CHURCH!
we have been coming to lifepoint for the last 5 wks and feel we have found a home. we knew right away who we were going to give r money to . r neighbor he is a single man who lost his job about 2 mos ago and when we gave it to him to day. he said that they didnt approve his unemployment. and tears came to his eyes. thank u lifepoint for giving us the opportunity to help r neighbor.
We, along with the Richards family, are giving our money to a co-worker who’s going into surgery this week for stage 4 colon cancer. He has 3 small children and a lot of co-pays, bills, etc… We can’t wait to spread the blessings and the word of God:) What a great day at LifePoint!!!
Justin and I were both given $10 and we decided we would match our $20, so we had a total of $40. We went to eat at Ruby Tuesdays for lunch and left the money as a tip to the waiter along with a Life Point Card. We have not been out to eat at a sit down restaurant as a family in so long, so we blessed ourselves today in taking the time to go out together as well, so thank you Life Point.
First I would like to say how refreshing it is to see a church actually practicing what it preaches! I was blown away by Pastor Daniel’s genorosity and think this is a wonderful opprtunity to make a difference in someones life! I received $10 in my envelope this morning. I went straight to the grocery store after church and bought a box of canned goods for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank.
Thanks again and God Bless!
We left Lifepoint not exactly sure how we were going to use our cash to bless this community, but kinda liked the idea of tipping a server BIG (plus it was nearing the brunch hour haha) so we grouped up with another Lifepoint couple and headed to Cracker Barrel. I prayed on the way over, like Daniel suggested, for God to seat us where the blessing was needed. I insist that God has a sense of humor, bc he also took that opportunity to teach me patience, for we were told the wait would only be 20 minutes. Forty-five minutes later, we were scurried to the corner of the restaurant to a 6-top that was half bussed. We were certain that this was the table we were supposed to be at for God would not have made us wait that long for it. Crystal, our kind server, received an $80 dollar tip along with 2 Game-Time invites in the white envelope given to us this morning. We handed her the envelope with the “Lifepointgivesback.org” label still on it in hopes that she would go to the site and read what our church is up to. I’m hoping maybe she will write how she was blessed with the money.
Love the series and the teachings,
Ashley and George North
Out for a Sunday night dinner, we took our money from the envelope, matched the amount, and blessed our very hard working waitress with a tip almost equal to the bill.
My family was away this Sunday visiting my husband’s family in PA. My sister called me to tell us what happened. We were so moved by this & feel as if we missed something so spectacular that we’ve decided to take what our offering was & share with someone anyway! God is SO GOOD & we want to share this with someone else! Thank you for your passion Pastor Daniel & staff!
I was a first time visitor to Lifepoint Church today, January 25, 2009.
I was given an envelope that contained $10.00.
I took it to Mary WahsingtonHospital Gift Shop & purchased a beautiful scarf
for my friend who is a patient, battling recurring Breast Cancer.
She was delighted to see me & my daughter, Kelli. She didn’t open the
gift right then, but it touched her that we brought her a gift. She had other
visitors– family members, I believe- @ the time of our arrival.
She is a Christian woman, and was active with Maranatha Touring Choir
when my daughter was an active member…
I believe our visit, and our gift Blessed her, & her family members very
much. I’m sure that it Blessed me to be able to visit her–and to be able
to give her a gift. I live on a fixed income, so gifts are usually out of my
budget. I Do give people cards. I write them messages & poetry, etc.–
but I’m Not usually financially able to give gifts…
The True gift is our Prayers and our Concern for one another.
Thank you for sharing Christ with the community in this way.
God Bless You, each one.
In Christ,
Susan Fern
My Wife LaDeana and I received $20 each. We went to dinner Sunday night and gave the $40 dollars to our waitress on top of the normal tip. I prayed that the offering would be a blessing to her.
Got $10 in my envelope, so I go to eat after the service, my waitress is reading her dietary text for her nursing school program as I walk in, we chatted about school and I went on with my order. After paying my bill which was $40, I GAVE HER $40, I ADDED $30 TO WHAT YOU GAVE ME. She came an found me as I was leaving and asked if I wanted some of money back, this is so unexpected. I said the church gave me money to go bless someone today. I said I remember how tight money is going through school. I’m sure you can but it to go use. She was over joyed! I thank GOD for the blessings he has given me.
Good Morning Lifepoint….
Yesterday we received $40.00 total between our family. I asked my kids what they would like to do with the money? We decided to do something for the homeless shelter. I called and spoke with the staff and let them know what our church was doing and ask how can we help. They said they are mothers with small children who can’t afford medicine for them and their are a few with colds right now. So my chilren and I headed to Target and bought 40 dollars worth of Motrin, cough meds, tissues and vitamins. When we arrived at the shelter Cj asked mommy do those kids live here? He wanted to do so much more for them. The staff could not believe all the medication we had brought and thank us for our genoristy. I think this was a great experience for our family. It’s sad to think that some mothers can’t even afford a 3.00 bottle of medicine for their child. We just want to say thank you and we feel so blessed to be apart of such a great church. Love the Mitchell Family, Carlton, Kim, Miranda & Cj
There is a mother at my daughters dance class that is struggling. Her husband was laid off 2 months ago and they are also going through some other tough things. I got a gas card with the $20 from my envelope and I am giving it to her today.
I took the $10.00 in my envelope and gave it to a co-worker who works a second job at night. I passed along the message that God loves her and our church wanted to bless her because God has blessed us in so many ways..
I was were able to bless a teacher at my childs pre-school. Her husband had lost his job resently and she had taken on all her family’s financial burden. Due to all of the extra stresses, over the Hoilday’s she suffered a mini stroke. By the gace of God she is now back to work. Lifepoint has blessed her with the $100 to help her and her family.
I received Sunday $20.00 my daughters Kelly and Karly both received $10.00. Having a dog from the SPCA, Kelly my 10 year old felt that the SPCA could use this money to help build their new facility. She not only is giving the $10 she received; but decided to double it with her allowance. We are putting the money together plus a little extra to take to the SPCA this week.
I was so overwhelmed while in that service, God was truly there, touching hearts and teaching of his gifts of generosity. I knew exactly where I wanted to spend my $20 so I headed to wawa. My mother has not been able to get a job due to the struggling economy, leaving a financial pressure on my father, and my brother who has been a tremendous help to our family, I wanted to give them a blessing. I walked up to the line to purchase a gift card and felt led to give each of them a $20 gas gift card. They were very thankful for the gift and it gave me a chance to share what God is doing in this community and how much he has done for me. This is an amazing lesson to here and I pray it sets the community on a mission to love and bless one another.
As soon as I received the white envelope on Sunday morning, my mind was filled with the faces of people I wanted to help. Faces of a few of my teenage students, who come to class wearing the same sweatshirt and jeans day in and day out, hoping no one would notice. I imaged the joy they would feel when I handed them a gift card to some shop in the mall. Then I saw the faces of my elderly neighbors. Each day they sit outside and wave to all the cars and people that go by. I imagined the joy they would feel if I brought them lunch and joined them for the afternoon. More and more faces and ideas filled my mind, and I realized that this envelope was the start of something big.
My envelope contained twenty dollars. As I left Lifepoint, I prayed for guidance. It took only minutes for me to realize where this gift should go…Dunkin Donuts. If you know the Dunkin Donuts on Salem Church Road, you know the sweet lady who works behind the counter. I do not know her name, just her smile and usual greeting, “Hello sweetie”. Her greeting and her joyful spirit lifted my heart whenever I saw her, even on those days when I felt uneasy. She is a blessing to me. When I arrived, she greeted me (“Hello sweetie”), and I told her that I appreciated her and all she did for me. I gave her the money and as I did, she praised God and began to cry. I was beyond touched by the experience. Her coworker, also moved, asked me more about Lifepoint. As I left the coffee shop, the coworker said she would see me at Church next Sunday. After six months of pondering the decision of whether or not to return to religion, this event had changed her mind, and ultimately, I believe, her life.
Thank you, Lifepoint, for changing her life as well as mine. That white envelope has inspired me to do something generous each month. I hope that in a year’s time, all those faces that immediately flashed in my mind will feel God’s blessing through my hands.
Having received a combined $40.00 at sunday’s service, we matched the amount and presented it to Hope House.
My fiancee and I tried Lifepoint for the first time Sunday and it was like a breath of fresh air in a church. We have tried several churches in the area and are so happy we found this one. The people are alive! the sermon is accurate and practical and the example that was shown by Lifepoint is indelibry imprinted in my mind. I recieved $10 and I felt led to drop groceries off at a family with a newborn in the area. His job has slowed with economy and I believe it will be hugely appreciated and helpful. but I dont know if anyone is more blessed by it than me.
I wanted to help an elderly person in some small way. I matched the money I received and was off to CVS on an errand, low and behold, I witnessed an elderly couple counting pennies in order to purchase the gentleman’s medication. I walked over and introduced myself and offered them the money. Of course they thought there was a “catch”… I assured them it was Lifepoints way of “giving back” to our community in a small way. They gladly accepted and thanked me. The wife went on to tell me that her husband has cancer and their insurance runs out next week!!!! I will be praying for them. Hopefully in some small way this will give them some hope. Once the couple left the check out lady asked if I had more information about our church, which I gladly supplied. She informed me that her husband too, has cancer and would love to be on a prayer list. She is also not happy with her church and will be giving Lifepoint a visit. It is amazing to see the working of Christ as we realize how truly blessed we are as Christians.
I recently left a church that I have been attending for about 8 years. I have only been attending Lifepoint Church since November but I felt I found a home as soon as I walked through the doors. I knew with absolute certainty that I had found the right home this past Sunday. Many churches preach but don’t always practice what they preach. In today’s economy, many peoples faces passed through my mind when Pastor Daniel announced what was getting ready to happen. I have members of my own family that need the money but I have been helping them out and will continue to do so. So I prayed all day and God placed 3 names on my heart. They are all three young adults, 2 are college students and one recent graduate. I know them through my sister and brother-in-law. They are three of the sweetest girls you will ever meet. And they love, love, love the Lord. They work part-time jobs while trying to maintain their studies just to make ends meet but always find the time to remain in bible study and attend church or church functions whenever the doors are open. I received $20 so I knew that would not stretch among the three very well. So I added $70 so that I could give each of them $30 a piece. I attended a function on Sunday night at the University of Mary Washington where I knew 2 of the 3 would be. You know how college kids are they appreciate anything. I shared with each one separately what had happend at Lifepoint Church and they had already heard. I then told each of them that I wanted to give them some money that they could use to buy a tank of gas or just splurge on something that they normally would not be able to do. One of them cried and said you have no idea what this means to me. They thanked me but I told them not to thank me but to thank God because I was just doing as I was told. I got home and went on my Facebook account and found an email from one of the three, the one who cried. She continued to tell me how blessed she felt. I may never know why this meant so much to her but God knows and I am glad that I was able to be the messenger. Thank you Lifepoint for reminding me that generosity brings blessings! Suzanne
I have a close friend that came to a couple services last year, but life happened… things came up… she stopped attending. Recently, some things have happened in her life and she is really searching for answers to big questions. She has expressed interest in coming again. She even went on the website and looked at what the church is up to. Not really interested in finances, but still hoping for answers, she told me that she will come to the next series. When I recieved my envelope, I knew exactly what I would do with the money. Being a high school student, and living far from Chancellor, my friend doesn’t have much money for gas to come church. Giving her $10 from Lifepoint will help her go to a place that will not just give her answers, but will give her the right answers.
Jeremy and Jes Gaston & Cindy Breeden
My mother in-law, wife, and I pooled our money together totaling $50. As we were in Target Sunday afternoon, we over heard a woman requesting a manager. Of course working in sales the reason for a manager sparked my interest. Being a little nosy I caught a portion of their story and the tone of what seemed to be a frustrating day. The woman’s mother-in-law was in a wheelchair with only one leg. They were searching for a stool for her. They wanted to take a display stool down so they could see if the height was good for her. After some reluctance (due to safety regulations) the manager granted their request. They found the stool and made their way to the front. As they came by our aisle I introduced myself explained that our church was practicing EXTREME generosity and that we would like to help them pay for their purchase. They were all very shocked and the elderly woman looked up and shook my hand saying “Thank You” with what looked like tears welling in her eyes. I told her you’re very welcome and God Bless you all! It has been an amazing experience to be a part of this blessing and AWESOME church. OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!
After opening the envelope in my car on Sunday in my envelope was $20. I decided I would match the amount to help pay for groceries for my co-worker who has three children ranging in ages 17 through 13, struggling financially to make ends meet. I presented her with the money tonight and she was overwhelmed with emotion. Thank you Lifepoint for making an impact on my life and my co-worker’s.
My wife and I decided to combine our $10 to take out 2 people who have been mentors in our lives. Its a small blessing to give in comparison to what they have given us for years. They are Godly people and gave and sowed into us for so long- it was the least we could do. Thank you Lifepoint!
I combined my money with Miles & Dena Cooke. Our co-worker, John Bernard is battling colon cancer and has surgery this Wednesday in Richmond. When we presented him with our money he had tears in his eyes and couldn’t wait to tell his family. He told me how God has made so many good things come from this illness and as soon as God sees him through this, he will be able to turn around and help others. I thank Lifepoint for allowing God to use us as vessels to show His love. Please keep our friend in your prayers.
God put on my heart immediately what I should do. I have been witnessing to a woman at Bloom Grocery store for the past several years. On occasion, (not all the time) I have been able to share stories with her on how God was or has worked in my life. She has listened politely but never really expressed where she was with her faith. She had shared a few stories of the struggles in her life with me, not a lot of detail but enough.
I went to Bloom right after church and purchase a food gift card for double what I had received and began searching the store for her. I found out it was her day off and that she would be back to work on Monday.
I went back in Monday night and saw she was indeed there. Not wanting to embarrass her, I asked if she could step aside for a moment. She looked puzzled! I began to tell her what a blessing she was to me because she was always so nice to me each time I was in. I then told her that I wanted to return the blessing and offered her the gift card. She was shocked. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Initially she refused the card saying that I should use it for myself. She asked why her? When I told her what LifePoint had done and that the money spent on the card was God’s, the tears began to well up again, which then caused tears in my eyes. She reached forward and gave me a hug and whispered ” You have no idea the hard times I am having now”. I whispered back, ” You’re right, I don’t but God does.” I then left, holding back the tears and finished my shopping.
This is the BEST day I ever had at Bloom!
I teach in Spotsylvania County and the mother of a student of mine from last year just got diagnosed with breast cancer before the holidays. She had surgery last Monday and begins treatments in the near future. I used my money to prepare a full meal for her family, with four daughters I knew it would help them out. I took the dinner over and walked away with tears in my eyes because I am so fortunate to be able to be a part of the wonderful things Lifepoint is doing for our community. THANK YOU LIFEPOINT! You have changed my life forever!
Sam & I combined our $10 each put it in an envelope with personal note and Lifepoint’s GameTime card,saying thankyou for her serving us and sharing God’s LOVE and BLESSINGS to our waitress. Wow what a great way to open up doors(opportunities) in reaching out to people. WE Serve an AWESOME GOD, attend a exciting church and have a God seeking Pastor!
I have to say first that I had lost some sleep over this task…I had tossed and turned for the past 2 nights. I even woke up this morning and the first thing I thought was “I still don’t know what I am going to do with God’s money!” I then got all dressed and ready to take my 4 month old for her dreaded shots…so many tears later (more mine than hers) we walk into the waiting room so that I can feed her. I usually wait and feed her in the car but we were both too upset and needed some comfort right then and there. As I was burping her, a middle aged woman and her daughter who was between the ages of 7 and 10 walk in. The woman walks over to the receptionist and proceeds to tell her that she doesn’t have money to pay for her daughters co-pay. That her mom has to do it with a credit card and they can’t run the card until tomorrow because that’s when her check will get deposited. All the while her daughter is sitting in the chair with her head down looking saddened. That’s when my heart started beating so fast, and not realizing it I was burping Zoe faster her poor little back was probably so sore. “That’s it!!” I was saying to myself in my head. The woman then took her daughter to the restroom and there was my in! I went to the receptionist and told her that I would pay her co-pay. I used the $20 given to me and then 5 more. I gave the receptionist the “Game Time” card to give to the woman when she returned. The nurses and the receptionist were all in tears as I was leaving. This was an AMAZING experience! I enjoyed giving God’s money back to the people who need it most! Thank you
Having been a college student in the not so far past, I remembered how great and special it was when someone would visit and take me out to dinner. I had a friend in mind who is paying for his entire education on his own by loans and working through college. Also, I had remembered that he was always counting his pennies to pay for dinners or buy groceries. So, I thought it would be a great idea to take him to dinner with the $20 I received. I explaing to him why I was buying him dinner and what Lifepoint was trying to accomplish with this great outreach to the community. He seemed intrigued and realized that he should go back to church since it had been a very long time the last time he went. Obviously the gift from Lifepoint left an impression on him. When I received the bill I decided to do more, so I paid for his dinner and then left the $20 for the waitress who was very sweet and did a great job (she also struck me as a poor college student as well). It felt so good leaving a positive impact on someone’s life. Hopefully the acts of kindness will motivate them to live better lives as well.
I received $20 in my envelope on Sunday. I held on to the money for a bit trying to decide the person in my life I wanted God to bless. I continued to think about it and who I was going to give it to. Tonight, I drove into the 4-mile fork area to have my regular session at the gym. I looked up and saw the Dollar-Tree store in front of me. I made a sharp left toward the store and decided that I was going to bless a complete stranger. I went in with a very high heart, and rather nervous. I saw a women maybe in her mid to late 20’s. She walked in and quickly grabbed two items off the shelf. A type of Ramen noodles and a bag of chips. I grabbed a small container of mints and went with her to the checkout line. I asked her if I could check out with her and purchase her items for her. She looked extremely surprised. As the cashier slid the mints over the scanner, the young lady handed them to me. I told the cashier that I would like this young lady to have the change. I told her that I hoped she had a very blessed day and I began to leave. As the change was being counted back to her on my way out the door I heard her much appreciated voice say..”ohhh my goodness”. The generosity of the church and this particular experience has been a very eye-opening experience for me. AND one I truly enjoyed. Thank you!
My husband and I pooled our money and were able to bless a teacher at my school and her teenage son. It was such a small act of kindness, but it felt so good. When we didn’t have school on Monday, a friend came by and we were sitting around the kitchen table enjoying a pot of tea, and I shared with her my story of what had happened at Lifepoint on Sunday. She told me that she had planned on coming to Lifepoint that day, but ended up not coming. She said that she was sorry that she had missed it. Suddenly, it occurred to me that she could still be a part of what happened after all. I asked her if she and her husband would be interested in forming a “Blessings Group, ” where we would invite couples we know to meet once a month and pray and decide on someone to bless. She said yes immediately and we started to think of people we could ask and ways that we could help others. I talked to another friend that same evening and she said she wanted to be a part of it as well. It’s exciting to think what this could become. BTW…this was our first official Sunday coming to Lifepoint and calling it our new church. Way to go on getting the new people involved!
This past September a dear friend of mine tragically lost her 22 year old son in a motorcycle accident. He left behind many grieving and confused family members, many of which are still angry with God. Two special people he left behind are his 20 year old girlfriend and their 2 year old son. This lose has left her with more emotions than one young person should have to endure. To make matters worse once she returned to work after the funeral she was dismayed to find out that her office was having financial troubles and had to let her go. Within a week she lost the love of her life, became a single mom and joined the many unemployed people in the community. For the past four months I have ached as I’ve watched her struggle and have prayed that I could help her cope with her lose and give her faith that things will get better. When I opened my envelope on Sunday and saw not one, but TWO, $50 bills I instantly teared up, closed my eyes and saw this precious girl and her son. This money could do wonders to give her hope. Whether she uses it for her son, for gas, daycare, groceries, a trip to the salon, or even a new outfit to wear to the job she just started two weeks ago, I knew she deserved this hand up! Immediately after church I went to the Christian Family Store and bought her a book on dealing with grief and a card that said the exact words I needed to say. I put the package together and slipped the envelope from Lifepoint in between with a note telling her it was a gift from Lifepoint. I mailed the package first thing Monday so she could receive the surprise at home! Who doesn’t like getting surprise packages in the mail?!!
This afternoon when I got home from work I had a message waiting from her that said “hey i just got your gift!! thank you sooo much! i really cant believe you guys did that! i love you so much cassie. you really know how to make my day!! and bring a tear to my eye at the same time! if i have a guardian angel it is definitely you!”
I simply responded “No need to thank me baby girl…thank God for using me to be here for you! This is just His way of reminding you that He knows you’ve been dealing with some bad stuff the last few months but He is here for you to help make things better! I told you my church was awesome! Like nothing I’ve ever seen. You will love it!”
I always invite her to Lifepoint and she has expressed an interest but I have not pushed too hard because I know it will come in God’s time. He will show her the way and I thank Lifepoint for enabling me to help Him reach out to this sweet young lady and give her some hope when some days feel hopeless. To further add to the blessing of this I have to confide that this gift was not just a blessing for the recipient but it was a HUGE blessing for me. I have a special bond with this girl because I lived through the same situation she is going through. I was 19, a widow and a mother of a 2 year old. I understand what she is feeling and I know how desperate, angry, isolated, lonely and hopeless she must feel at times and all I want to do is fix things for her. I know from my experiences what she needs and I only wish that God had been an important part of my life during my troubles. If I had only had someone to hold a hand out to me to help me find my way my life would’ve been so much different and I am so thankful that I can show her God’s love. To bring her that peace would make all of my tribulations worthwhile. So, thank you Lifepoint and thank you God for this opportunity to reach my hand out to this sweet girl further than I would ever be able to do on my own. I love you all!
My daughter Breanna decided we should pull our money together which altogether added up to $50 and give it to a family friend of ours that struggles financially because the husband has medical issues with his back and is at home. Mom works as a nurse and there are three kids. The oldest child is a dear friend of Breanna’s. Our lives are very parallel and we have received help in the past and love being able to give back. God bless LifePoint.
I keep up with several Carepages of children with cancer, so when I received $20 in my envelope, my first thought was “which one?” Or should I use it at a restaurant as a great tip? I still hadn’t been led to a decision as of this morning when I was checking my email. One of the kids that I pray for with cancer is named Bailey and he has a sister that turns six today. She said that instead of people buying her gifts, she’d appreciate them buying some little beaded ornaments that she has made to sell. ALL of the money made from her sale of these ornaments is going to another child named Bella who has Leukemia. So-I’m off to Michael’s and AC Moore (with coupons in hand) to buy as many of these “activity beads” as I can with the $20 from Lifepoint and some of my spending money from the week. I could buy four ornamaments for $20, but she can make lots more with the beads and sell them for $5 a piece.
I can imagine her little face when she opens the box full of beads and reads the story about LifePoint Church giving back. Thank you for letting me bless a small child so that she can bless another one.
WOW what a blessing. How many of you felt better to give that money away then to recieve? I never felt that “old saying” stronger in my heart then Sunday evening at the grocery store. Joe and I put our money together ($30) and added $10. I went shopping and asked God to show me the person He wanted me to give it to. After looking at several people asking for a “sign”, I saw a young girl (about 18) and her mother walking by and the girl was reading to her mom, out loud, the things they could buy with the WIC check she was holding. You could tell it was the first time she had received a check from WIC. There was a new born in the cart all bundled up. God basically said “here’s your sign”. Took me a few minutes to get my courage up to approach them. When I told them God was asking me to help them out, they declined. I was like OH SMACK!!! How am I gonna get this girl to take this money. The mother mumbled to me that the girl really needed the money. So I glanced down asking GOD TO HELP!!!! This girl has to take this money or I am gonna feel like a complete retard. I saw her purse in the cart and told her God really knew she needed a hand right now and dropped the money in her purse and walked away. WOW IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! Thanks Lifepoint for bringing us God’s message of generosity!!!!!!!
This past Sunday I received 20 dollars in the envelope that I picked out. I stressed over trying to make sure that what I did with the money was what God wanted. I wanted God to lead me to give it to someone who had a need that only He could meet. On my way into work today I decided to give it to one of the cashiers at the Fastmart near my work, which I visit frequently. I purchased two Gatorades and some gum and then handed the girl $50 and told her to keep the change. She followed me out to my truck and asked if I understood what I had done. I told her that it was hers and that God had blessed her. I was running late for work but I intend on inviting her to Lifepoint the next time I go in. The whole time I was shaking with excitement. I think that this is a rush that I can get used to.
We were blessed with Twenty dollars each and we knew in our hearts that the money should go to The Serenity House. They have helped a family member beat an addiction and placed their life on track and gave lots of hope and compassion. Knowing how they provide ,listen and teach self wellness and hope we delivered the money in a time of need,they are in the process of making more room and to help more people, thank you lifepoint for blessing us and in turn blessing The Serenity House.
My husband Josh and I began coming to Lifepoint last April after the Easter Egg Drop. We were amazed that a church would so something so BIG for their community and after our first Sunday, we knew we had found a church home. With the LifePoint Gives Back campaign you’ve outdone yourselves! I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the future!
I’ve struggled with what to do with my money for the past few days. I wanted to do something for someone who was in need and I wanted it to make a big impact on their lives. I prayed for God to show me someone who needed a blessing and low and behold, he did! We had just walked into the barber shop to get my son Jaxon’s haircut when I overheard one of the barbers say she thought she might have strep throat. As we waited for our turn, I listened as she and the other barber discussed her symptoms and the fact that she didn’t have any insurance and couldn’t afford a trip to the doctor or a prescription. Jaxon normally gets his hair cut by the other girl but she was busy with another client so we went to the girl who was sick instead. We made small chit chat about her illness and whether or not she should go to the doctor. We discussed walk-in clinics in the area I told her about the free antibiotic program that Giant is doing right now. So, I go to check out and give her $12 cash for Jaxon’s haircut. I then handed her the $20 I had received from Lifepoint as a tip. At first, she thought I was joking but when she realized I was serious and I told her about what our church was doing, she was overwhelmed with gratitude. She then began asking me about Lifepoint and said she was looking for a church home and will check it out. I hope that this gift from God will not only provide her with the medical care she needs but that it will also change her life for eternity.
Thanks LifePoint for all you do!
I had just been talking to Jay on Saturday how I wanted to buy diapers for Bethany Christian Services. They offer crisis pregnancy services to the community of Fredericksburg and beyond and also offer baby clothing, formula, diapers, etc. to mothers who need help. They are always out of diapers, so we decided to use the $10 we received on Sunday to buy diapers for this organization to hopefully help those around us who need these basic necessities.
I had the wonderful opportunity to bless a single mom who works two jobs to make ends meet. This kind individual is also the mother of a teenage son with Asperger’s syndrome , a form of autism. She is completely devoted to him and works 24/7 to make his life as positive as it can be.
I used God’s money to take her son to Thing’s Remembered to purchase a valentine’s present for his mom. We had it engraved. I was so blessed by this opportunity ! As this activity seemed so focused on the mom, I decided that we all should go to her son’s favorite restaurant so that he could feel the blessings in a tangible way as well.
Thanks so much Lifepoint for helping to me to realize how many opportunities surround us daily and how we can make a real difference. I can’t wait for Valentine’s Day
On Saturday my son told me that a man he worked with was having some family problems. His wife had left and now he will be raising his two boys alone. My heart was aching for all of them! When I received my envelope with $20 I immediately knew I should use it to cheer them up in some way but did not know exactly what to do.
I have prayed all week and it became clear this morning that bowling might be an activity they would all enjoy together. I went to AMF and briefly explained to the young man at the counter what our church had done and he was of course blown away with the concept! I told him I would like to purchase a complete package of bowling, shoes,food and drinks and was happy to add more money to the $20. (He said they had a special on Sunday mornings - of course I said that would not work! ) We talked about a few options and then he said he would check on something and be right back. You can imagine my surprise when he came back with a COMPLIMENTARY PASS for a terrific package for everything! I was speechless… but only for a few moments, because I knew I needed to thank him and then invite him to come to visit our church . I gave him the Lifepoint info card which he DID put in his wallet!
I put the pass into a card and in a note told this father about the “give back” and that without his even knowing it God was using him ALSO because now I STILL have the $20.00 to bless someone else! Now I am praying what that next blessing will be. This is so much fun! Thank you God and Lifepoint for enriching my life this week and allowing me to be a part of this wonderful gift to our community - it is a privledge! I cannot wait to see where God leads next!
My family was out of town this weekend so we were not able to experience what our church family experienced this past Sunday. We are so proud to be a part of this body of believers. I was amazed when my sister (that also attends LPC) told me that our brother ,all the way down in Knoxville, Tn. had heard about what Lifepoint had done. I am simply thrilled that God is allowing my family to go on this ride with Lifepoint. I believe that God is gonna blow us away in 2009. Lives are being changed in this community due to the way the Holy Spirit is working through this body of believers. It is my prayer that this church will continue to keep the main thing, the main thing and that the name of Jesus will be exhaulted!
For the last couple days I had someone in mind that I wanted to give the money to that I received. I prayed and prayed about it because I really wanted to give it to the right person. The first person that came to mind was my supervisor where I work at Verizon Wireless. Her husband lost his job right before Christmas and they have four kids from about age 4-15. I really thought her family could use the money, but I wanted to make sure that is what God wanted me to do. Today was my first day working with her since Sunday. We were talking about things and she mentioned that she was at a point where she didn’t know whether to pay her rent, or her car payment. It was then that I knew that she was definitely the one that I needed to give the money to. I opened my purse and pulled out the money and told her what Lifepoint had done on Sunday and that I wanted use that money to be a blessing to her family. She couldn’t wait to tell her husband. He came to the store just to give me a hug and thank me so much. He couldn’t quit thanking me. He told me that Lifepoint was truly going to be blessed in a big way and talked to me about the verse in the bible that talks about giving and how God will pour out a blessing that we can hardly handle. He turned around and gave part of the money away to a homeless man on the street and used the rest for groceries for their family. I can’t explain how truly blessed I felt to be able to do something so special for a family in need. Thank you Lifepoint for what you did for all of us this week!!! I can’t wait to see the blessings the Lord brings to our church for its generosity!!! Lifepoint Rocks!!!
I am a member of Sylvania Heights Baptist Church. I have visited your church with several of my daughters and other family members. I was very touched by your January 25, 2009 service.
I work for the Caroline County Public Schools. I have students that have a very hard time getting supplies due to financial problems at home. Following the service we went to Wal-Mart . I received ten dollars in my envelope. I was able
to purchase notebooks , folders and snacks for these students. The bright smiles on their faces were a blessing.
How Fun is GOD!?!?!?
I drew a gift of $100 on Sunday and immediately started to listen to my heart (God’s guiding voice). In the past year I have been burdened to make sure to thank people that normally don’t receive proper thank you’s.
There are two police officer’s in our neighborhood (their patrol cars are in their driveways) , one is a VA State Trooper and another a Spotsylvania County Deputy Sheriff. Seeing them gone most nights, weekends or holidays I knew that they needed a special thank you.
Because I drew two fifty dollar bills I knew they needed to bless more than one person. Not wanting to just give these “Protector’s” of our Community cash I was lead to obtain a gift card from Carrabba’s so that they could take their family to a nice dinner — ON GOD!
I delivered a note and these gift cards this evening to each Police Officer telling them about what our church did with the week’s offering. I thanked them for their service and how much our community appreciates their service and sacrifices. Their smiles and thanks were a blessing to see and hear in return and I praise God for this opportunity.
May God watch over all of our First Reponder Community as they protect and serve this great Nation. Thank you Life Point for the opportunity to be a part of doing God’s Will.
God is so good! I read the previous comments concerning the give away and my heart bursts for joy!
Harry and I combined our money, which totaled $30 and decided to double it to $60.00. We had prayed and waited upon God on who He would have us give it to.
Here it was Thursday night and we still had the money. With the snow, we haven’t been anywhere to meet someone in need. Well, we found out that if you can’t get out, God will bring someone to you. HE DID!
Our son, David, came by and was telling us of a lady at his work who had been sick for a while and had many medical problems. She needs a liver transplant and has been put on a waiting list . The family needed help financially and those at his place of employment were taking up money to help her and her family. Wow!
Harry and I looked at each other in a knowing way and said, “Don’t you think that’s a good cause?” Yes. We gave our son the money to donate to her family. I’m sure she will appreciate it, but my son’s heart was so touched at what the church was doing. He plans on telling her about the give away and our church. One day I pray that he’ll come to Lifepoint on a regular basis and not just on Easter and Christmas. God and His Holy Spirit are working and answering prayer.
God bless you, Harry and Lucy
I knew immediately who was supposed to get the $10 in my envelope. Last Friday I was in a bookstore I frequent and the cashier was upset. She shared with me that she had just found out that her hours had been cut drastically and she was going to have to get a second job. She said she was tight financially before her hours were cut, but now she couldn’t make it and was concerned about finding another job in the current economy. I mentioned that I had just heard of a store that was possibly hiring and she should check it out. I also told her that we had found an awesome church (she knew I had been looking for a new church last summer) and I gave her an invite card. I went in today, and told her what Lifepoint had done and gave her $20 (the $10 from my envelope and another $10 I matched it with). She was overwhelmed. She said she was going on a mission trip to Louisiana to help the Katrina victims (she’d already been twice) and she would take it and use it there. I told her, no, that it was for her. It was meant to bless her and that she couldn’t give it away! She started shaking, teared up, I teared up and the people behind me in line were blessed as well. I have never been so blessed in giving in my life. Then I went to get my car inspected and God blessed me. It was supposed to take 1:15 and they finished in 45 min. Plus, when I looked at the invoice, it said $00.00 balance. I questioned it and the man said, “I messed up and didn’t charge you, but since it’s already been processed, it’s free!” LIFEPOINT GAVE ME $10, I MATCHED IT WITH $10 AND BLESSED SOMEONE WITH IT. GOD GAVE ME BACK $16!!! WE REALLY CAN’T OUTGIVE GOD!!!! THANK YOU LIFEPOINT, YOU CAN’T OUTGIVE GOD EITHER AND HIS BLESSINGS WILL BE BEYOND WHAT “WE CAN ASK OR THINK” BECAUSE OF YOUR GENEROSITY.
I have been going to Lifepoint since we had around 150 people, and I can say this has been an amazing event to experience. I personally had the opportunity to take the money I had in the envelop and give it to a friend that needed gas for her car. I then was talking to a close friend of mine who has a co-worker going through a tough time, to that I took the opportunity to give nearly the same amount had already given out, to him to give to his co-worker. I’m touched by every story I read here, and I pray daily for not only the blessing of each of the people we reach out to but each person writing their story here. That they will be blessed in their generosity.
Sunday was so awesome and we couldn’t wait to spend our money but we didn’t know on who!Frankie and I thought all week how we were going to spend the money but we really didn’t want to plan; we just prayed that when the right person came along we would know!
It did not look like they were having the best night and as i kept telling Frankie how adorable their kids were we both realized they were the people God was showing to us! On our way out we gave the hostess the money with a Lifepoint Church card and asked her to give it to the couple once we had left. I can imagine being so young with two young children finances can be tight so I hope having their dinner paid for lightened the load at least for the night 
Its so great reading how all of the money was used this week around Fredericksburg! God is good!!
We decided to go to dinner last night and this young couple came in with a toddler and a newborn and sat down at a booth behind me. I heard them tell the waitress they wouldn’t be able to fit the baby seat in there so they needed to move, and of coooourse they ended up being placed at a booth that was directly in my line of vision.
My husband and I each received $10 at Lifepoint and we put our money together to bless a guy he works with. He has a wife and two small children and they were evicted from there home recently. They are now living with the wife’s parents. We felt led to bless him because the week after we received the money he told my husband that he had no money at all. He was so happy for the money we gave him. He thanked us but my husband told him to thank God because it was not our money! God is good and Lifepoint really made a difference in our community last Sunday! For some who received it, it was life changing. We are proud to call Lifepoint our home and be part of this amazing blessing to others.
I am sad to say I wasn’t at Lifepoint last Sunday to see the start of an amazing blessing but I have been keeping up with the stories and reading about how everyone decided to share and donate the money from their envelopes. I started going to Lifepoint a few years ago with my stepmom Terri and loved it since day one. My dad has also fell in love with the church and everyone there, and I’m proud to say we are a family of volunteers =). I am a sophomore at JMU so I haven’t been able to come to Lifepoint as much as I want to, but I do every chance I get. Last Sunday I was finally off work and able to go to a service at Aletheia Church in Harrisonburg, like my Dad and Terri have been asking me to since we heard about it at Lifepoint. I had no idea while I was visiting Alethia (and loving it, too) that God would be working his magic in ways i never would’ve guessed. My Dad called me on Sunday afternoon to ask how it went and tell me what happened and to let me know he was giving his envelope to me. We all started crying, it was like the world was taken off my shoulders. I’ve been thinking about the generosity of this church and everyone in it all week and I decided that keeping God’s blessing entirely for myself wouldn’t be right. I’m going to go shopping this afternoon to buy some personal care items and food for the Mercy House here in Harrisonburg, which is like the Hope House there. When I told my boyfriend what I was doing, he wanted to join in so he is matching my donation and we’re going to take that and buy canned goods for the Patchwork Pantry. I am so thankful for God’s blessing and the generosity of this church. I never thought I would be able to donate more than just my time to those who need it. I can’t wait to read more stories from everyone else!
I received $10 in my envelope on Sunday. I had no idea what to do or who to give it to. I thought and prayed all week about the person this was for and waited for an answer. This morning I received an answer clear as day. I decided to add a little more to the $10 and headed off to the gym for my usual Friday class. I have two young children and they often come with me and play in the kid area. There is a young lady who works there and she always greets us warmly and smiling. No matter how loud it gets back there, I have never heard her complain. She has an amazing ability to know every child by name and knows which child belongs to which parent. She’s always on the ball and never breaks a sweat. I am grateful to the people who care for my children and try very hard to show my appreciation for them. I do not know her story or her situation, but I knew she was the one that needed to be blessed today.
After my daughter was escorted back, I grabbed my envelope, said a quick prayer to say the right words, and approached her. I explained what Lifepoint did on Sunday. I told her that she is a blessing to my family and I appreciate her so I wanted her to be blessed today. She hugged me and thanked me. I think we were both tearing up at this point. When I was leaving, she thanked me again and said I made her day.
Later, when I left the gym, I started my car and “Blessed Be Your Name” was playing. The lyrics say, “Every blessing you pour out, I turn back to praise.” I said a quick prayer of thanks, smiled, and thought, “Nice one, God.”
Thought for several days about what to do with the money and yesterday decided to give it to a co-worker who had had a rough week including unexpected expenses when his heater broke the day of the snow storm.
I had invited a friend to church this Sunday. I was really excited that i chose her to come that day.We both combined our money with a total of $20.00. We did not know how we were first going to use it … We thought of giving it to people who could not afford lunch in our school, but we decided, because we were going out to eat that we would give the server a $20.00 tip, with the normal tip. He was very excited that he had gotten a good tip and that God blessed him.♥☻♥
I prayed for four days over who to bless with the $20 that was in my envelope. Suddenly, God burdened my heart for a woman who I haven’t seen in months. This woman has a large heart for God and has recently texted me asking for prayer and encouragement, she has felt alone and like giving up on life. Financial burdens are overwhelming her and her family and weight-related health issues are devestating her self-esteem and self-worth. I added $30 to my $20, and have annonymously sent a biblical greeting (a very cute funny one) card with the $50 cash inside; no note other than “God will provide. Please use this money to spoil and bless yourself. Remember, if you ask, you will receive. God is good” I once prayed for $50 when I was in great need - the week later I found a $50 bill on a deserted street. I want to always have faith that God will provide and that He can make money fall from the sky if He so deems it; I want others to feel the same blessing of awe and faith that I have felt in the past to such an answered prayer.
The service and lesson of generosity of the heart was one of the most moving and poignant sermons/experiences I have ever had. I have been praying to learn to become a cheerful giver and this experience opened my heart wider and fuller than I ever imagined possible. I have been inspired to sponsor a child through Compassion and to be generous in my giving to needy organizations. This was the best real-life example of how all money is Gods’ ; this experience changed everything I think about money and has given me a deep desire to honor God in my stewardship of the blessings He has bestowed upon me. Thank you Lifepoint for opening my heart and my eyes.
Together, Jeremy and I recieved $30 in our envelopes. As soon as I got to work on Monday, a woman I work with told me about a family who recently lost their home in a fire. Worse than loosing their home, they lost ther son who was a senior in high school. They were not insured and lost everything. We felt that they needed this blessing more than we could imagine. My co-worker is giving them the gift today.
Last Sunday was our third visit to Lifepoint church. We were amazed that the church was willing to entrust that amount of money, not only to its congregation, but to strangers. How awesome!
A good friend’s husband had a heart attack about a week and a half ago on a Monday and had another heart on Thursday. He is truly blessed to be alive. My husband suggested that we put our $10 together and buy a heart healthy cookbook for them. During one of my conversations with my friend she expressed that she was stressed about what to cook for her husband, who also is diebetic. I knew that she would appreciate the cookbook. I ordered two cookbook (Heart Healthy and Heart-Diabetes) and had them delivered to her. I want her to experience the curiousity about where they came from. This week I will share with her what Lifepoint did to bless the community. My friend will truly appreciate the gesture as they struggle financially. These cookbooks will be a luxury for her. I was blessed by attending last week’s service.
Jenny Glasgow
I was praying all week about the $20 that God had placed in my hands and how I could bless someone’s life with it. I have a fellow teacher friend that I always wish I could bless because I know how difficult it is as a teacher with small children to make ends meet. One day last week we were talking and he was telling me how he had nothing to eat at home and would wait until we got paid the next day to buy groceries. I gave him the money and told him that God blessed me with this and for me to bless someone with it. He told me that there were more deserving people. I told him to just take it and buy some dinner for his family. I could tell that he was very appreciative of it. Thank you Lifepoint for allowing me to bless someone that I would normally not be able to do!!
I received $20 in my envelope and it didn’t take long to find out where God wanted me to put it. Sunday night, I got called in to work and found out about a co-worker whose aunt (like a mother to him) in FL had died. He had to make an unexpected trip all the way to FL and I know how expensive that is. I have had to do the same thing for my own father, who passed away last summer. My co-workers pooled money to help me get down there and it made such a difference. So, I knew what I needed to do with that money. I handed it to him and told him to use it towards his trip. He said, “Thank you, man.” I told him not to thank me, but to thank God, and I told him what my church had done. I’m sure it made an impression on him, as it has on everyone I have told this week. Thank you for allowing me the chance to give that money to bless someone else. It felt great.
Every day we pass a little motel where families of 3, 4, or 5 call a small room home to avoid being homeless. Jim and I decided we would stop and inquire about the rates and families currently living there. As I was sitting in the driveway talking on my cell phone one of the resident stopped to ask me if everything was alright and did I need assistance which touched my heart, here I am coming to bless someone in need and they were blessing me with care and concern. When I spoke to the manager of the motel he told me about a young mother name Sally, an abused mother of two who was unable to work because of her injuries. It was Sally and her family that we decided to bless. We took the $20.00 we received from Lifepoint and added the remaining balance to pay Sally’s rent for the week. The next day we received an email from our daughter Carley, she wanted to know if we had blessed anyone since we had shared our thought on what to do with our envelopes with her on Sunday. There was a student at her school whose family was going to be homeless by the end of the day and while they were working on getting assistance for the family they did not know if it could done by the end of the day. We thought about the last four weeks, the message Daniel had shared; who are the rich, we are the rich, give generously from the heart kept replaying over and over. We are the ones who had been blessed by Daniel and the staff at Lifepoint and here was another opportunity to pass that blessing onto someone else. To allow social services time to find a more permanent solution we would pay a week’s rent. This has been an amazing experience and I want to thank Daniel and the staff at Lifepoint for allowing all of us to share in it.
Wow… I can not even start to tell you how this web page as TOUCHED my life right now..( I just read every comment & cried over alot of them!) I live in Ft Myers Fl but I always read the Fredericksburgs Paper online since it is where I spent my child hood. My husband and I have been struggling since he lost his job last March. Our house that we built 13 years ago on land that had been in his family well over 100 years was being taken from us by foreclosure. In August I was very sick to learn that I had Lymes diease stage 3 & was out of work 5 weeks. We had been hurt badly by the people in our home church and we were back sliding big time and wasnt attending church during this time! I started Praying and Praying hard, I begged God to take me… let me Die, only to realize he wasnt! knew that I really needed to TRUST GOD and give everything to him. So I started visiting different churchs every Sunday and Tomorrow Im please to say that Im part of a brand new Church that is being formed.
God is awesome and I feel that he is getting Stronger everyday, for the past 2 years I have been wanting to go to college and get my degree but I was uncertain on what I was wanting to do and after praying about it, it came to me last week I wanted to go to bible college(im already enrolled YAY!) and get my degree in Ministry!
Did I forget to mention that last week My husband started a new JOB!
Im soo excited right now cause God is really Moving and We are soo Blessed, cause I learned last night that we can SAVE our house it is not too late!
God is Awesome Im soo Happy that I came to my senses and realized that he is the light of my PATH!
Now after reading this I cant wait to go out and Bless someone with the money I have left over from my pay check!
God Bless you Lifepoint for making me realize that it is time to Bless someone else out there today!
2009 is looking better every day cause we are Walking in the light of his path again!
Christine
I read about your community in the Freelance Star, and want you to know that you have all given me something that money can’t buy…inspiration. Thank you for that precious gift. What you are doing is what life is all about. Those who “have” are given the opportunity to share with those who do not. Everyone benefits from these beautiful acts of kindness and generosity. It’s like a pebble in the water. Those you have helped will remember you, and they will pass along your kindness to others. It’s easy to believe that huge donations of millions of dollars change many lives for the better. But sometimes very small things…$10 at the right moment, a simple thank you, or even just a smile…can change the course of a life in a really big way. It has happened to me…more than once. So know that you are changing the world - everyone of you…in ways that you may never fully realize. Thank you for your amazing generosity.
I have a friend that has had 2 different types of cancer operations in the last year .
Last week she had to do more test , for her blood work shows their might be new cancer cells .
I put the $20.00 and $60.00 more in with a card , I handed it to her while she was at work , told her to open it when she got off. I haven”t heard from her today . I”m sure she will be calling once she composes herself .
Sunday was a crazy awesome day! When I was getting ready to open my envelope, I felt led to match whatever amount was inside. I’ll admit I was a bit nervous. I thought, “Okay, God, I’ll match it, but if it’s one of the big ones, you’re going to have to help me out!” When I opened the envelope and saw a $20 inside, I have to admit, I was kind of relieved. I pulled another $20 out of my purse and put it in the envelope thinking, “Okay, God. Now what?” All week I was looking around thinking, “Is this the person You want me to give this to? Is this the person?” Finally, last night, I found her! I had a “buy one get one free” coupon for Chick-fil-a and decided to go out for dinner instead of cooking. While I was sitting in my booth eating one of my sandwiches, I noticed this little old lady working there. She was cleaning off the tables and bringing things to people, all the while smiling and chatting with the customers as if for all the world all she wanted to do was clean up after other people’s messes in that restaurant. I looked at her and I just knew, this was the person! My heart started pounding and I got all nervous, wondering if she would accept the gift. Eventually she made her way over to my table and asked me if there was anything she could do for me. I asked her if I could have a “to go” bag for my extra sandwich. She smiled and went to get the bag. When she came back, I thanked her and handed her the envelope and told her that I had something for her. She opened the envelope and then got all confused and tried to give it back to me, saying “But, honey, maybe you could use this.” I explained what Lifepoint was doing and told her that I really wanted her to have that money, and that it was a gift, completely free, no strings attached. She then accepted the gift and gave me a coupon for another free sandwich. I walked out thinking, “How cool is that! I got to bless somebody, and God just bought me another free dinner!”
Our family decided to combine the money that was entrusted to us and allow God to lead us to a family with need. During a phone conversation with a neighbor, a family was mentioned that I had heard about on another occasion. I explained to my neighbor what LifePoint was doing and she said she would also like to participate! The family consists of a single mom with two elementary age children – a boy and a girl. Their father recently got out of prison but he is not with them. This mother works very hard every day and takes her children to church. We learned that the children did not receive even one small gift for Christmas. We plan to purchase a new outfit for each child, along with a small toy and purchase a gift card for the mother. We will add whatever we need to the $80 we were given. We are in the process of getting sizes for the children and will present God’s blessing to them next week. Practicing generosity is not something new to us but we are now looking for more ways to bless others outside of our circle.
My wife Leigh, son Justin, and myself each received 20 dollar bills in our enevelopes on Sunday and decided, after much thought, to continue to help the homeless.
Several years ago, my wife and son, unbeknownst to me, had started making up small bags of goodies for the homeless that contained items such as fast food gift cards, a small book of spiritual anecdotes, bottled water, some form of snack, gloves, tissues, hand sanitizer, etc. and was handing them out to the needy and homeless at various intersections and exits in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County and we have done so ever since.
It wasn’t a tough decision as we decided to pool our money together so we can continue to bless the less fortunate in this small way.
Lifepoint church has been a blessing to us, and we are so thankful for the opportunity that Lifepoint has given us to bless and help others.
\Lifepoint Gives Back is in Saturday’s Free Lance Star
I have been attending Lifepoint Church late since 2005, and have truly found a place that accepts all Christians and promotes the Biblical teachings that help in today’s life. My boyfriend and I pulled our money together and will be making a donation to The Hope House ($30.00) http://www.hopehouseva.org/wish.html as well as an additional donation of pet supplies to the SPCA. We have not found that “someone in need this week,” but plan to keep an eye out as we create margin in our budget. It is ironic that Lifepoint has chosen to do this amazing thing, because I have been having discussions with my boyfriend about random acts of kindness not only in our relationship but to others as well. God Bless, I hope we can reach those in need to at least try our amazing church. They will feel a warm welcome and I am positive a new church home.
We received $30 last Sunday and decided that we would add $20 to it to make an even $50. We decided to use the money to buy snacks (crackers, chips, etc.) and canned ginger ale for the chemo patients at Hope Cancer Center in Culpeper. The chemo patients have to be hooked up for hours while receiving their treatments and they have a basket where they keep snacks for everyone to share. The Hope Cancer Center was such a blessing to my father and we wanted to be a blessing to them in return. Thank you so much Lifepoint for blessing us, so that we could bless others! It is so awesome to be a part of what God is doing here a Lifepoint!!!
I gave the $10.00 I received from Life Point to a woman who lost everything she had in a house fire. She worked at the hair salon I get my hair cut at. Funny thing is, I had been in at least three times this month (for various reasons) ,before I actually read the paper on the jar that stated it was collecting donations for her: it was actually after I received the money from Life Point. As soon as I read it, I knew exactly where the $10.00 was suppose to go! I told the story about what Life Point had done to the receptionist, who, after I was finished, told me that the girl was actually her sister! I am certain she will tell her sister just where the $10.00 came from! Although not a great sum of money, it did stand out amongst the dollar bill that where laying in wait at the bottom of the jar.
I waited to see what God had planned for the little ten dollar bill I received…not a great sum of money, but I KNEW, at that point, that that was where He wanted it to go! God is awsome if you just give Him enough time to reveal Himsdelf to you and if you allow yourself to listen! Than you Life Point!
First, I want to thank God for a church that doesn’t just talk the talk… they WALK the WALK!! I have been in church all my life, No church that I have ever been part of has so compassionately taught their members the biblical truths about what God wants for us and our finances. And I definitely haven’t had a church literally “take me by the hand and show me by example” the true meaning of what God means about our being generous to our fellow man. For that, I thank God, Pastor Daniel and all of the pastorial staff at LifePoint for their example.
First, my family pulled all our money together and had a total sum of $60. We sat together, discussed what Pastor told us to do in the sermon and then agreed on giving it to a friend who has gone through a divorce, his son commiting suicide, his daughter having a nervous breakdown after finding her brother all within the last 18 months. He is a good christian man, but has fallen on tough times. I drove by his house early Tuesday morning to leave a note on his truck to get ahold of me. I saw that the television was on through the window so I knocked on the door. He came to the door - with one eye open - I handed him the envelope with the $60 in it and said God Loves You, (Name) and so do I. He was rather bewildered…. partly because he was not awake, but also by being handed an envelope of which he had no idea what was inside.
I did not talk with him until a day later and he asked me why I handed him an envelope with money in it and then just left. I explained what Pastor Daniel had instructed us to do and that our family decided to pull our resources to bless him. He was amazed that a church would do such a thing and explained that
he had exactly one more day to make a payment on his son’s tombstone (in TX) or forfeit the contract and lose what he already had paid. He thanked God for working through LifePoint and us to meet a need “right on time”.
GOD IS GOOD!!! ALL THE TIME!!! RIGHT ON TIME!!!!
I love this whole idea of giving back! It is so simple and yet so much fun! I was at Hollywood video store in central park and after renting my dvd I asked the front desk clerk if he could do me a favor. He looked at me kind of strange and told me “sure.” I asked if he would take the ten dollars that I gave him and credit it to whoever comes behind me. I also gave him the lifepoint cards and asked him to give them to whoever receives the credit. This guy looked at me like I was crazy. He asked me what the cards were about and I told him that it was for my church and that this is not some sort of business deal but that I just wanted to bless someone. This dude thought I was whacky! He could not believe that I was doing this. I told him that it was no gimmick and that it was just a gift! I have no idea how this affected the people behind me but I do not that it affected the front desk clerk in a positive way! Sometimes it is the small things that have a HUGE impact. That is my payer with this! Thank you lifepoint church for giving me the opportunity to bless some people.
Well my family (Ken, Dana, Taylor & Alyssa) drew a total of $50.00 last Sunday, and wondered for several days of things we could do with it. In the middle of the week, I researched homeless shelters and chose to contact the Thurman-Brisbon Center and asked what they really needed. (I chose this shelter because of it’s services, but also because it only allows people that are test clean of drugs & alcohol). We decided to take the list and go shopping to buy some of the items that they were in most need of. Being very thrifty normally, I was able to make that $50 stretch pretty far, and purchased bulk amounts of milk, juice, sugar, coffee, creamer, tea, toilet paper, some umbrellas, bed sheets and lots of clothes. Buy the time we finished, we had over spent alittle, but gladly make up the extra $25 difference. This “project” has been on our minds all week, and we have done alot of “boasting” about LifePoint and plan to make this our new home church for a long time to come. Thank you very much for making us feel so welcome and at home here. This offering has made me want to make this a monthly offering (if we are able to) and continue to “spread the blessings and give back”. We are thankful to have you as a church to direct us to carry out God’s wishes!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One thing I forgot to post on my message was the reaction of a volunteer at the homeless shelter….and that was when we opened the tailgate to our truck that was loaded with items…he simply said “OH WOW, WHAT A BLESSING” and that meant the world to us!
My husband and I went to dinner and left the waitress an extra tip. She was very thankful and seemed a little surprised by the gesture. We pray God will continue to bless her and she will truly know Him in her life. We are thankful for the willing hearts God has placed at Lifepoint church and, in the short time we have been at the church, we see God’s love in action. We are thankful God has brought us here.
Last Sunday was my first time visiting LifePoint Church. I’ve recently moved back to the area after graduating from college and was missing my church there. I prayed that God would help me find a church and two days later I heard about Lifepoint. What and awsome week to be my first week!
I received $20 in my envelope and used it as the tip for my waiter and included info about lifepoint. I really think the waiter appritiated it! I saw him slip it in his wallet. It was so fun to know that I was going to bless him at the end of the dinner. Thank you for such a powerful illustration of how God wants us to honor him with our finances. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else you have planned!
Last Sunday we both recieved $10 in our envelope. Funny, it has never tooken so long for us to decide how to spend $20 before. We really wanted to make sure that the right person was going to get this. We chose the Hope House in Fredericksburg. We called and they told us that they could use cleaning supplies due to the many colds and sickness that had been going around. So we took our money and added some to it and headed to BJ’s and purchased a bunch of cleaning stuff and also some vitamins for the women and children. When we took the items to the Hope house the lady was very thankful and I can’t tell you how good we felt knowing that we had helped those women. I included a card with the items we dropped off. The card reflected exactly how we feel now that we attend Lifepoint and have a much closer relationship with God. It stated that with every moment in our life Good and Bad we could always count on God and even in the Hard times he is standing right beside us. We always here these things but I can honestly say that afer coming to Lifepoint we really believe these things. This church and the people there have changed our life forever. Thanks Lifepoint!!!
My husband and I pooled together our money which amounted to $20 and saved it until last night knowing that was when we were going to go out to eat. We prayed all week that the Lord would give us the right server to give the money to. We matched the twenty and left a $40 tip for the very hardworking, sweet gal that served us all night. She was VERY thankful for it. It was going to be put to good use
Thank you lifepoint for allowing us to do that, it was such a blessing to see the joy!
I have been attending Lifepoint for a couple months now. Danielle (a wonderful friend & a former co-worker) got me to start attending. Every Monday night when I used to work with Danielle I would vent to her about all the problems (financial, marital..everything) that was going on in my life. She is always there to lend an ear to listen. (No matter how long & boring my problems might be) :o) I, unfortunately, was not at church this past Sunday when the envelopes were handed out. I was however there today..and ofcourse Danielle was also there. As I walked up to say Hi to her, She told me she wanted me to have her envelope. I immediately could feel tears coming into my eyes. I first declined..thinking to myself there is always someone else out there that might need it more, but Danielle slipped it in my purse. My husband has recently been layed off and things are very tight around my household with my two children. The money Lifepoint, God & Danielle blessed us with will help so much. I just wanted to Thank Lifepoint, God & Danielle. I think this is the beginning of an amazing thing! It makes me even more proud to have become a member of this church! :o)
Life happens and we are a little late in giving away our pooled money. We prayed as a family all week about who we should bless with what we had been given. We doubled the $30 we received and gave it to our waitress today. It was so neat to see the waitress we had been praying for all week and knowing God was going to bless her. I wish we could have seen her face but hopefully God will let us know how he blessed her through us once we see Him in Heaven.
Today I was running errands and stopped at McDonalds for some quick lunch. Immediately I noticed the lady beside me ordering at the drive thru looked and sounded like she was having “one of those days”. So when I went to pay for my meal I told the man I would like to pay for the lady behind me also. Turns out she didn’t order much so I took my $20 and paid for the three cars behind me in the drive thru. I saw the lady behind me in the rearview when the man told her she looked up at my car mouthed “thank you” with a big smile and two thumbs up. Thank you Lifepoint for giving me the opportunity to bless others!
Thought for a couple days about who to bless and how to do it. (Perspiration).
Jotted down a poem and printed 2 copies on sticky mailing lables. (Inpiration). Went to seven different stores to buy a teapot to put the poem on and the money in. Then drove to the bus station only to find it was closed! (Frustration) .
Got up early and went back to the bus station and left the teapot with the money inside on the window ledge in the waiting area. (Dedication).
If the right person comes along-who knows what might happen.(Salvation)?
The poem:
Inside this teapot you will find
A gift from GOD - the money kind!!
It’s meant to help if you have need,
Our church felt led to do this deed.
If you desire please use it all,
Or just a part if your need is small.
Please help yourself with no guilt or shame,
And always remember from WHOM it came.
May GOD truly bless you and one final thought,
When you find you are able, please refill the pot!!
As I read these stories, it is such a reminder that we serve an amazing and all knowing God. A God who will use those that are willing to serve and show love and generosity.
My daughter Katie is only 10 years old and upon hearing about the Lifepoint give
back, wanted to be a part of it. I had recieved ten dollars and could think of no better lesson than to allow my daughter to learn first had about generosity, so I gave her the money and told her the rules. She has such a caring heart .She thought of the homeless, kids at school, and several others.
We had a family meeting an prayed about what to do. We decided to pool the money to make a bigger impact. While Lori was at school the following day, God made it very clear who needed to be blessed. We added to what Lifepoint had given and Lori gave it to a co-worker. The individual said the the timing was perfect and they did not have grocery money for the week due to an illness.
” To God Be The Glory”
When Lifepoint did the “Gas Buydown” last summer there were some people who, despite the severely discounted price for gas, only bought a few dollars worth. I realized that no matter how cheap the gas was, that was all the money they had to buy gas that week despite the great deal. I knew that was where I could make a difference for someone this time around.
So I waited at a 7-11 gas station for someone to come in and pay cash for a few dollars worth of gas. It didn’t take long. The first guy who walked in was a young man who told the clerk he wanted $3 on pump 5. I asked if he’d like $10 more. The look on his face and the “Yeah, sure!” and the way he was studying the Lifepoint card I handed him was priceless. I may have to do this more often!
I used the money I received towards a massage gift card for one of the girls I work with. She is a single mom with two kids and she doesn’t often get to do anything to treat herself. Hopefully this will be something to encourage her!
We are from Pa. and were visting with our son and his family for the weekend. They invited us to your service and we received $40.00, we decided to add to the amount and buy 2 families enough food to feed a family of 4 for a week.Through the outreach of Angel Food Ministry that operates out of our church we will be able to reach out to our neighbors who are in need. Thank you for this great opportunity to share God’s love and goodness. Earl and Diana Hines
I am a child life specialist at VCU Children’s Medical Center in Richmond Virginia. Yesterday our Pediatric Pulmonary clinic received an envelope with your website on the back. We were overjoyed to open the envelope to find a cash donation! The family who gave us the envelope asked that we come to the website and share how it would be used. Our program seeks to assist children and families in coping with their healthcare experience. This donation will be used to purchase small items to go in a prize box in the clinic. THANK YOU!
Eric and I pondered long and hard over what to do with our 20 dollars over the last week. We kept trying to think of things we could do for complete strangers, but in the end, came up with an idea to reach out close to home to our neighbors in our couldesac. As an RN on the oncology unit at the hospital, sadly two of the cancer patients I cared for were the husbands of two of our neighbors. One lost his life to pancreatic cancer, the other to a brain tumor. We donated our money and added some more to the American Cancer Society in their name, and with the donation money ordered two Teddy bears with a bunch of live daffodils to give to the widows in remembrance of the loved ones they lost. We pick up the bears and flowers on March 19th. We will be attaching a Lifepoint card to the bears and a short note to remind them of God’s love and faithfulness to them during their loneliest hours. We thank the Lord for allowing us to minister to those who are mourning.
I have attended church for over 30 years and have never received money back , I just simply plopped my dollars into the basket. I was shocked the Sunday I received an envelope with a crisp $20 bill. I always write checks to a different charity each month, but did not feel the calling to just add 20 to my normal donation. My mind would not let it go, I thought and thought and thought until my brain started to sizzle, which does not take much info for that to happen!! FINALLY, my “ah-ha” moment arrived!! One day at the mall a custodial worker approached a friend and myself as we were heading toward the trash-can to throw away food (because we are loaded) and she asked if she could have the chicken nuggets…..naturally we gave them to her and she walked off and ate them. Since that day I had planned on buying her lunch, but never got around to it….then the envelope with 20 bucks came into my life. I went to the mall today and found the custodial worker. I was so nervous…what if she thought I took pity on her, what if I insulted her by handing her money?? She walked into the ladies room and I followed her in….there we were…. standing by the potties. Normally I can’t escape a public bathroom fast enough, but not today. I handed her $40 and a Lifepoint card. She was very grateful and a little surprised. I am sure as she entered the bathroom she was braced for all the things a public restroom can offer, until today…her surprise did not make her gasp for air, but smile for joy.
Thanks Pastor Floyd for your inspiration
I was visiting from Pittsburgh, PA with my son and daughter-in-law. I was going to give the $10.00 I received to my church’s food bank. However, in speaking with the Pastor this past Sunday, there is a woman in the local community that had called with multiple needs just the day before. I added $20.00 to the money received and asked the Pastor to use for her as needed. Thank you for an inspirational service and message. I have told many people about Lifepoint giving back!
I have to say I’m glad that I slacked on sharing our stories and was able to read all of the blessings and inspirations posted above <3 We recieved a 20 and a 10 on Sunday and though we didn’t decide right away whether to pool it or make 2 seperate blessings we knew we felt led to help families with children. We went to dinner Sunday night intending to pick up the check for another family and prayed as soon as we sat down that God would reveal the right one. Well, apparently we should’ve prayed for the right resauraunt first because the only other family there left before our server even came to take our drink order;) As we considered what this meant and that we didn’t have the money to just keep going out to eat we decided just to continue praying about it over the next few days. In that time I kept thinking of one of my first ideas which had been to pay towards a couple of purchases at a place like Goodwill. God laid on my heart a children’s consignment shop and so this weekend I doubled the 10 to 20 and asked the cashier to use it to bless the next few purchasers. She was confused at first but when I explained what our church had done she agreed to apply $5 toward the next 4 purchases
We also went forward with our other dinner blessing and this time went to Red Robin where we knew there would be families with kids but had originally been nervous that it would be too crowded and difficult to pick the right family as well as for the servers to coordinate it. It being in God’s hands and all, we were seated in the small area in front of the bar where there was only one server for all of the tables and there was also only one other family - a mother with her two daughters. We explained to our server what we would like to do and asked her not to tell the woman who had paid for her meal but just to put a LifePoint Invite Card in place of her check. She told us afterwards that the woman could not stop thanking her and told her that this was actually the second time it had happened to her! Our server told her maybe she should take that as a sign and check out the church on the card! haha. I’m not sure if the first time was someone else from LifePoint or not but apparently she really needed the blessings 
Wrapped up in the generosity, we also left our server an extra large tip and a note about LifePoint since we didn’t have an extra invite card. We hope and pray that they both visit because we know there is no better place to call home! We are excited to continue blessing our community in any way that we can <3
Our grandfather is in a nursing home. We thought about the people that don’t have visitors. We bought flowers and gave each lady a carnation or a tulip. The ladies were very appreciative.
in praying about how to share the money given to us, i couldn’t get a certain friend out of my mind. so today i brought her and the kids lunch and gave her the rest of the money to go out on a date with her husband sometime soon while i babysit their kids.
I saw a homeless man today he was very cold and i felt compelled to give him the money 20 and told him the church gave him this not the name of the church just church and he said god bless you and that he goes to church and said he has a bible…..so thankyou God loves this church
4 of us in our Lifegroup pooled our $ together, $40, then some folks tripled what they received to bring the total to $60 which we are putting in an accound to earn interest for a year. We contacted a guidance counselor at Chancellor High School to locate a junior who plans on going to college next year and could use some $ for books . A generous gentleman heard of what we are doing, said he would donate $180 to this account and add $250! next year so this student will have over $500 for text book! The guidance counselor was so excited to be a part of Lifepoint Church’s obedience passing on God’s love! THANK YOU also to the kind generous man who loves GOD and generously shared what GOD has entrusted him with financially!
I struggled for the first several days on how to be the best steward of the generous $20 I received from LifePoint and soon became frustrated because I was leaving town 3 days after having received it and was anxious to find that perfect recipient. Hearing my frustration, my husband said, “take it with you!” So, with that, I went down to Tampa to work for the SuperBowl events and kept my heart open to opportunities to stretch LifePoint generosity down to sunny Florida. On day 3 of my 5 day deployment, I saw nothing but countless limos and Hummers, none of whom I thought needed this gift. On that day, I prayed and asked God to show or tell me who should receive it. Literally minutes later, a young man’s name back at my office popped into my head. He’s one of our custodial workers who has Downes Syndrome and happens to be an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Hum…Mark…Steelers…Superbowl! I knew immediately what I was to do. I drove to the local NFL merchandise store in Tampa and bought him a Steelers Superbowl care package and brought it back. The day I returned to work, I told him the story about my struggle and about how I received the money but most importantly, I told him I wanted to give it to him so that I could be part of putting a great big smile on his face - and let me tell you - mission accomplished. He hugged me twice and kissed me once and as I walked away, his supervisor stood off to the side and mouthed the words “thank you” to me when he wasn’t looking. It’s the little things for these guys - but it was HUGE for me. Thank you LifePoint! May these acts of generosity continue in each of us!
Through talking with teachers and admistrators at my son’s school, I was able to determine a family who was in need. I used the $20 I received in my envelope plus an additional $30 to buy this family a giftcard to Wal-Mart. With this money, the single mother of 2 will be able to buy clothing, medicine, groceries, or whatever else her family may need. Thank you LifePoint for enabling us to give to others in such a big way. It is my hope that there is a domino effect in random acts of kindness and gift giving and that our community is overjoyed with blessings from God.
i know that God will richly bless each and every individual that was obedient and used the money to further God’s kingdom. We all are blessed by hearing what Lifepoint is doing and I know that God is using Pastor Daniel in a mighty way. We miss a lot of the folks as we had our church split and you now have a lot of our saints there. Please know that we think of you all often and are praying for Lifepoint and Pastor Daniel. God is good, all the time.
We decided to combine our money ($40.00) and send it to a young woman who is stricken with a muscular disease. We hope that it will bless her and let her know God is with her. We know first hand how much of a blessing lifepoint was to us when Abby was in the hospital and we wanted to pass that blessing on.
Upon opening his envelope, my middle school son immediately asked if he could give the money to a child in his class that never has a packed lunch or money to buy school lunch-he goes hungry most days. The money bought school lunch for this child for a week. My son said the boy was very grateful . I am SO GRATEFUL for the blessing my son is in our home and the many ways he shares, and is an example of Gods love, with his peers.
The remaining money we received was used to buy groceries to prepare a meal, that we brought to a family nearby with twelve children, (the 12th child born this past Christmas)! I can only imagine how happy ‘mom’ felt to have a night off cooking,
Thank you Life Point for the blessing you are in this community and for the spirit of generosity that you are inspiring!
I received $10 and asked God to show me what to do with it. I was feeling a little frustrated because nothing was presenting itself. Last night I heard of a couple who needed some encouragement, so today I added to that $10 and had flowers sent to them.
We were out to dinner and talking to our waiter about how the economy was taking a toll in “extras” like going out to eat. He admitted that things were slow and his paychecks were lower than normal. After dinner we decided to tip him the money received. I watched as he went to close the bill and he stopped dead in his tracks and came back and thanked us. He then told us that he was near the end of his shift and had not received a tip over $7 all day and that this would really help things out. We explained why we did it and how the church gave the money to bless others. You could see how much it did for him that night. I plan to do that again!
The Sunday the envelopes were passed out, I was a first time visitor. I was very moved and thankful to find a church that believed things strongly enough to let it affect the bottom line. I don’t think I’ve cried during any service in a very long time. Anyway, for the last two weeks, that envelope has been folded in my Bible and burning at me. I couldn’t decide what to do with it. Today, I got paid too much for helping a friend on a side job AND I heard of a family that is going through some rough times. Extra money and a need on the same day. God is Great! I am humbled.
My husband and I were visiting the church with our daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Tom McCain. We reluctantly took an envelope as it was passed since we were not members and did not contribute to the church but Lisa insisted we take one. I received $20 and my husband received $10. We did not immediately know where we wanted to use the money, but waited for the Lord to show us a need. That finally happened today. I received a call from a friend who wanted to bring a meal over since my husband just had surgery. In the course of the conversation, she mentioned that she is working three jobs and, in addition, is saving money to take her daughter on a trip for her senior graduation. I immediately knew this is how we wanted to bless someone. We matched what we were given and when she brought the food over, we shared how we received the money and wanted her to have it. Tears began to flow as she hugged us and told us how much she appreciated the gift. There was no doubt in our mind that she was supposed to be the recipient of the money.
I visited Lifepoint for the first time with my fiance the week Pastor Daniel passed out the envelopes. I have been a Christian all my life and have never seen such a radical illustration of how important it is to give. God bless Lifepoint for being an example of a church full of life and passion. I was so blessed.
It took me a little while to figure out what to do with the $20 I received. The weekend after I was given the envelope I went to a leadership conferene and one of the speakers shared the three major lessons he learned from his 2 year old son who just recently passed away from cancer. I was very touched by his talk and found what I should do with my offering. I decided to buy a picture frame and some nice paper, and type up the lessons he shared to sum up his son’s life which I’ll send to him and his wife in the mail. I bought the material with a card though and still wanted to use the cash so I gave the envelope with the $20 to a homeless man on a street corner too. What a blessing it is to give. Thank you Lifepoint!
I was in PA the Sunday of the Lifepoint Gives Back sermon and was so excited when my husband told me about this amazing act of generosity. He got $20. We thought of several ideas over the next couple weeks but couldn’t decide on the right one (well, I couldn’t decide!). We’ve both had family and dear friends pass away from cancer, so I spoke with a woman at the Cancer Center of Virginia in Fredericksburg about blessing the center in some way. In the end we decided that the money would go toward patients who need help with medication and transportation costs. The woman asked what church we attend and when I told her Lifepoint she immediately said that she had just read the article in the Free Lance Star. It’s heartwarming to see how this has turned into a ripple in a pond as more and more people in our community are being touched by generosity and God’s love!
We decided to add another $80 and had the money sitting in the kitchen by my purse when our little girl spotted it. She immediately said, “Ooooo Mommy, can I hold the money?” As she was holding it I asked if she knew what we were doing with the money. After telling her all about it, she ran upstairs to get one of her dollars to add to it! We are so blessed with what Lifepoint has done in our lives … all three of us!
Jack and I both both received $10.00. So we took the $20 combined and went to the hospital for the wounded soldiers. Jack asked what they could use and the Sgt. said that they could use gift cards for subway. They didn’t need a lot as the hospital was handling pretty much everything. WE asked how many there were and put in $30. of our own money and bought 10 $5.00 gift cards for them. They were so excited and so happy that even the staff Sgt. was tearing up. That was just a good feeling to be able to show our appreciation for all they have done. What an awesome feeling.
We put the money together and ended up with 100 dollars. We were discussing what to do when a name came to me. He’s a divorced single father of three and was layed off before the holidays. I met him and the kids sunday after church and gave him Gods money. With a solomn smile he said thank’s now he could buy food. Thank you Lifepoint for doing what you now best, Reaching people in a practical way. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us next.
My family and I have been attending Lifepoint since August 08. I hadn’t gone to church in a while, and the only way I was in touch with God was through FCA/Fellowship of Christian Athletes for my high school, Massaponax. I serve on the leadership team for my school’s FCA. Every Wednesday myself and about 20-25 other MHS students meet at Chick-Fil-A to set up a lesson for Thursday morning, which is when we have our FCA meeting. My parents immediately knew what we should do with the money we received. My parents and I combined all of our money ($50) and decided that we should put our money towards spreading Pastor Daniel’s message of giving. So last Wednesday we bought all of my fellow FCA leaders breakfast from Chick-Fil-A. We gave each person an article from the newspaper and explained Pastor Daniel’s message. We thought by doing this, we could impact 20-25 people, to take the money that they saved that morning and use it to give in some other way. Immediately after I got up and explained the message and people read the article, people were already brainstorming about what they could do to give back to the community. People the next day were telling me how they showed their parents the article and how their parents thought it was very cool that a church would put such an interesting spin on their message. I really was happy that I was able to spread the message to others, and I pray that they follow through in giving back.
Some couples in our Lifegroup joined together and donated our blessing money (over 400.00) to a little girl named Mackenzie. Her grandfather is in Lions club with my in-laws. She is 1 and just recently had an emergency liver transplant at the end of January. She and her family live in Virginia Beach but have been traveling to Georgetown since the transplant to be with her. Her Mom and Dad have been there with her daily and have been sleeping in her room by her bedside. Here is her website to see her daily progress: http://www.mackenzielemn.blogspot.com/ .
we had 30.00 between us and we added to it we use d the $ to belss some random car behind us in the drive thu and left them a lifepoint card……and we used the other $ to buy a phone card for my brother who is in rehab along with a card that let him know ppl care..it was a blessing being able to help ppl out! this was a GREAT thing!
My husband and I popped into one of the downtown eateries to grab a sandwich. There was a homeless man sitting at a table by himself…wrapped in blankets…with a full black trashbag and several piles of belongings on the floor around him. We bought him a meal and gave him the change from the $20 bill.
I don’t have any illusions that this was a big help to him in the grand scheme of his life, and it wasn’t even a drop in the bucket of the problem of chronic homelessness in Fredericksburg.
The bigger change was probably in me. Because of this exercise, I had specific motivation to find a way to use God’s “Lifepoint Gives Back” money for someone that needed it. So in a big “Duh, Kelly!” moment I was reminded that it is ALL God’s money anyway, and I needed to ALWAYS be looking for small or large opportunities, with small or large dollars, to use the rest of God’s money for God’s purposes.
(And He didn’t even have to beat me up and take it from me.)
I struggled for a while to find what God would have me or us do with our money. I prayed that God show us. (but I saw nothing) I prayed some more. (but still nothing) SO I finally decided that I just needed to wait. In His time, the right person would come along.
One day at my work a girl that I work with expressed that she only had a little bit of change and she was on empty. I was so excited (not that she was on empty, but excited that my “opportunity” had just stepped in). After hearing her needs I explained the story to 2 of our kids (who also recieved money) they graciously wanted to help too.
The really cool part was that she attends Lifepoint. So when I gave her all of the money and told her that it was our “giveback” money, she didn’t know what to say. When I told her that part of the money was from my kids, she was even more moved. I hope that through this she will know that she is truly loved by Christ and by his church.
It is amazing to me how such a small amount of money can cause you to look so differently at the world. Thanks Lifepoint for meeting people where they are and wanting them to be more. God is good!
It took me about a week to decide what to do with the $10 I received (obviously longer to let you know what I did with it). I decided to at least double it and as I was continuing to think about what to do with it, I found $20 I forgot I had, so I decided to use that too. I eventually decided to buy some items from the Thurman Brisben Center’s wish list. When I went to WalMart to buy everything I had a friend with me who decided to throw in an extra $30! It was really exciting dropping everything off and getting the chance to talk with some people who were helping me carry stuff from my car. Thanks for doing this LP!
I don’t live anywhere near LifePoint, nor do I attend church — but I read about your wonderful program online and came to your site to read about how your parishioners were going to bless their community. You have warmed my heart with your generosity, so please know that you’ve made a positive impact on one more life without spending a dollar to do it!
Our family discussed where our money would be needed most for several days. A young man that I have known since kindergarten lives down the road from us. He was always special to me because while he could have made some poor choices throughout elementary school, he remained a very polite child who cared very much about his academics. This year he is in 6th grade and I don’t get to see him in school anymore. He has so much going for him in school, however his homelife is a different story. My family decided to add to our Lifepoint money and purchase a Giant giftcard. We placed the giftcard in a card that read “Just because…” and sent it to his family. I hope that it was as much a blessing to them as it was for us.
OK, so it’s been a while and a LOT of soul searching and MANY, MANY possibilities of how to use our $50 (combined $20 from my husbnad, $20 from myselft and $10 from our son). I just never felt that gut response of YES, this is it! That is until this morning. I was looking at Fredericksburg.com (as I do every morning) to catch up on the local news and saw an article about a family with a special needs child and thier Make A Wish gift. The received a bike calle the Duet (http://www.frankmobility.com/duet.php) so that the Father could ride with his son who is severely disabled but LOVES to feel the wiind on his face. This is near and dear to our hearts as we have a severely disabled daughter too. Like the boy in the article she cannot walk/talk or function past a 5 month old. But her smiles and joy are ASTOUNDING. She has never been thought of as a burden to our family but a total blessing. God has so radically used her in our lives to draw closer to him and her life screams of His purpose. My husband, being the engineer that he is, has many times talked of designing a bike that he could ride with Kelsey. When I read this article and saw this bike I got that THIS IS IT, feeling. We will put the money towards the purchase of this bike for her. All for you Kelsey!! We love you and honor you as you continue to bless us with your presence in our lives!!
Our High School Lifegoup felt God was leading us to pool our “God money” together to make a huge impact in somebody’s life. $10 or $20 is awesome, and there are many great stories above that attest to that, but we wanted to witness the radical generosity of a larger amount. After several kids matched or chipped in their own money, we had $260 (plus a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for a hamburger at Sonic - hey, it’s good food!) to bless someone’s socks off.
After exploring opportunities for a couple of weeks, two of our students shared the story of a classmate at their school who was in an accident recently and his family which was in desperate need. On top of all medical bills (the family didn’t have health insurance), one parent was out of work due to taking care of her son and they were facing eviction. As our two students shared the details of the situation, it was clear that God was revealing His plan - He wanted us to bless this family! He wanted to touch this family through us.
Last week, were finally able to present our “God money” to this family. As God is in the habit of doing, the timing was perfect to meet their needs. They were extremely humbled and grateful. They have been invited to Lifepoint and seemed very interested in checking it out, so we pray that God would continue to reveal Himself to them as we reach out to meet their needs.
It has been long in coming for me to write this. I wanted to make sure God led me in the right direction on how to spend the money that I received in my envelope.
The first thing I did was give some of it to a couple whom were having financial difficulty due to that horrendous disease “cancer”. I am sad to say my friend succumbed to this illness two weeks ago but I know the money helped.
The next thing I did was go and get gift cards to walmart, and gas cards and dropped them off at the Hope House which was muchly appreciated.
The next thing I did was give money to “Hunters for the Hungry’ to help process meat for the less fortunate and they to were appreciative.
The last thing I did was to give to the senior citizens group with hopes of starting a new fund to help with projects for those seniors who are no longer capable of doing home improvements on their own and this will open doors to donate money to help pay for things to be done in our community. This project is not quite off the ground but anyone interested in donating for this cause please contact Teresa Bowers at Mental Health America of Fredericksburg. This is a great way to help out and we are hoping to get it going soon.
Well as you all may guess, when I got into my car and opened my envelope there were 10, $ 100 dollar bills. I was shocked and yet so happy. I did not know it would be so hard to know where the money would go and I have waited as God has guided me. I am excited about the new things that may happen with where the money went and what a blessing our church has made in this community.
It’s taken me awhile to do this, but I was finally able to bless someone and it came in the strangest of ways. One was when I felt led to give half of my money to an organization that helps the blind. The other was the one that had me so nervous I thought I would shake right out of my jeans. I felt really led to give money to a random cashier at 7-11. I got a paper and then told her to keep the change. She looked at me quizzically and so in a big rush I told her how I thought she was a hard worker and deserved to be blessed. She smiled and pocketed the money. I’m hoping I’ll run into her again sometime and get the guts to invite her to church.
I’d love to say I have prayed diligently and waited for the perfect moment to bless the right person. The truth is that I became busy with the details of life and put it off for a very long time. A few weeks ago, someone I don’t know well–who works hard for little money–suddenly lost her husband. A friend took up a collection to help with unexpected expenses. I added $20 to the Lifepoint $20 I was given and included it with the card. It feels like nothing. But I hope and pray that God will do miraculous things with the nothing I have to offer.