Up From the Dumps ~ Sock it to Me!

Most people who know me well say that when I get down in the dumps, I don't stay there long. That doesn't mean I haven't "ever" had an extended stay (like stay 2 nights, get the 3rd free...), but dumps don't mark most of my days. As I've been writing about discouragement this month, I've wondered if you've been dealing with any discouragement. I've wondered if you wondered if I was discouraged. ;)  I decided that it didn't really matter if I was or wasn't, because God's help for our heaviness is constant and faithful in all seasons, when we feel up or down or in between.

To finish Up From the Dumps, I thought a perfect way would be to look up and look out from our own circumstances, because that always gives me perspective and reminds me life is about so much more than ... me.  So I want to share a project with you that I'm all excited about.

Because of the economic struggles this year, so many more people are discouraged and in need of help. Homeless shelters are bursting at the seams with people taking refuge there; those ministries are stretching resources to feed, clothe, encourage, and help. We are blessed to partner with Knox Area Rescue Ministries; the faithful servants there show God's love in tangible ways every day, 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. When a group of women visited last Christmas to deliver gifts to the overnight women guests, we asked what would be a helpful gift to receive.  They said socks. Warm winter socks.

So this holiday season we have kicked off (no pun intended) the Sock it to Me compassion project. Our goal is to provide a new pair of warm, winter socks for each man, woman, and child who temporarily calls KARM home. We'll stuff socks with items that are useful, and we'll add to it a tract that includes a message of hope. This small gift will demonstrate Christ's love, deliver the Gospel, reinforce the relationships nurtured by the KARM staff, and plant new seeds of love in the hearts of the givers.

Do you have a homeless shelter where you live? Maybe you can "Sock it to Me" with us where you live!  If you would like to see a close up on the information we created, email me, and I'll be glad to send it to you.  Our God is the One who lifts our feet out of the mud of discouragement and sets us on the solid ground of faith in Him:  

“I waited patiently for the LORD;  he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust …” Psalm 40:1-4a. 

There will always be slimy pits in our way, and I know that you, like me, will sometimes get caught in the mud and mire of life, but we aren't meant to stay there. We know how to get to solid ground, sweet blog friend, and I want us to be "blessed" together for trusting in the Lord to lift us Up From the Dumps!