GOD LOVES YOU and THE BELL-RINGERS

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/

  

Salvation Army bell-ringers  with their red kettles are out and about at grocery stores, and many department stores during the Christmas Season.

I've seen a few bell-ringers politely open doors for customers, 

and a few  JOYFULLY serenade passersby with Christmas carols.

Some volunteer bell-ringers are firefighters and policemen. 

God spoke to me about one particular bell-ringer, a woman in a pink jumpsuit. who stood outside my local Hobby Lobby.

There have been times in my life when GOD spoke to me  so clearly:  in a thought so prevalent in my mind that I knew it was His still small voice.

It does sound a bit crazy to say, "GOD spoke to me," especially after that time at TJMAX, when I was looking at scarves, and audibly heard my name in a soft whisper.

"Marcia."

I looked around and didn't see anyone calling my name.

"Marcia."   

There it was again.

"Marcia.  Marcia.  Marcia."

And again.

I saw no one in the vacinity whispering my name, so I replied: 

"Yes, LORD.  I hear you."

That's when I heard the giggles, followed by an outright splurge of laughter.  My daughter, Faith, and granddaughter, Megan, had been hiding  behind clothing racks, and whispering my name --  much to the amusement of one of the sales clerks.

So, when I thought I heard GOD speak to me about the
bell-ringer  in a pink jumpsuit outside my local Hobby Lobby, I waited to be sure it was GOD speaking, and not my practical jokers.

"Marcia, I want you to buy lunch for this lady."

I walked passed her and went into the store to shop.

 

"Marcia, I want you to buy lunch for the lady in the pink jumpsuit ."

I walked passed her again, on my way to the car, and looked around for the comedians in my family.  They were nowhere in sight, so I responded.

"LORD, I never carry cash, but I do have a few dollars:  $8 to be exact.  I was going to buy myself a kid's meal at Zarda BarB-Q."

I watched the lady in the pink jumpsuit disappear in my rear-view mirror as I drove just across the street to Zarda Bar B-Q.

"Marcia, I want you to buy lunch for the lady in the pink jumpsuit ." 

GOD can be so bossy, you know.  

He is  persistent.

I went through the drive-though lane at Zarda Bar B-Q, and ordered two kid's meals:  turkey sandwiches, fries and  Doctor Peppers to drink.  I wondered if the lady in the pink jumpsuit   would prefer hot coffee on such a cold day.  It cost just under $8, and I  got back  a little change.

I heard it again, plus a bit more.  It was a thought so prevalent in my mind that I knew this was GOD's still small voice.

"Marcia, I want you to buy lunch for the lady in the pink jumpsuit .  Tell her I told you to get it for her,  and tell her I love her."

I drove back to Hobby Lobby, and pulled the van right up to the curb next the the bell-ringer lady in the pink jumpsuit. 

"God told me to buy lunch for you."  I said as I jumped out of my car.

"He, did?"  She looked surprised.

"Yes, He did, and He told me to tell you He loves you."   

She was speechless.

I got back in my car, and drove home.  It's an amazing thing that the Creator of the Universe, the Most-High God, speaks to me, and cares about me and the lady in the pink jumpsuit.

 "GOD spoke to me today," I told my family the entire story.

"I know that lady,"  said Faith.  "The bell-ringers must make rounds to different stores, because I've seen the lady in the pink jumpsuit at Hy-Vee."

A couple days later, Faith came home with her own story.

"I talked to the lady in the pink jumpsuit today at work,"  said Faith.  "She was ringing bells at Hy-Vee.  She calls me 'Baby' like everyone else.  She told me a story about a woman who did something strange when she was at Hobby Lobby.  She thought the woman was crazy when she jumped out of her car.  Then the woman with curly white hair gave her a kid's meal and told her GOD loved her.  She said no one had told her that for a very long time, and she didn't know how to reply.  She also said that she lives with her family at a homeless shelter, and they never get to go out to eat - so she saved the kid's meal, and took it home to share with her family.  They all had a little bit of the turkey sandwich, fries and Doctor Pepper.  She told me about you, Mom."

The Creator of the Universe, 

             the Most-High God,  

                                 Immanuel,  

                      spoke to me on someone's behalf, 

                                          and I only bought a kid's meal.  

I should have used the debit card, and purchased a meal for her entire family.

Immanuel 

(Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל "God is with us"; 

also Romanized Emmanuel, Imanu'el) 

is a symbolic name which appears 

in chapters 7 and 8 of the Book of Isaiah 

as part of a prophecy assuring king Ahaz 

of Judah of God's protection against enemy kings; 

it is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew 

as a sign verifying the divine status of Jesus.     

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel 

 

Christmas 

is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ,

Immanuel.

GOD  

is with us.

 Do you hear His still small voice? 

William Booth, did in 1865,

when he founded the Salvation Army in London, England.

Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee did in 1891,

when he used the first "pot/kettle" 

for donations to feed the hungry in San Francisco, California.

Spread the word.

GOD is with us.

He loves people.

He loves you, and wants to talk.

Are you listening?

There is much work to be done in His Name.

 

Red Kettle History

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/red-kettle-history

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry.

During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project.

Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day.  

As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.


Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years.  

Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.


Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world.   Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/red-kettle-history

 CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser: 

http://www.salvationarmy.org/

The movement, founded in 1865 by William Booth, has spread from London, England, to many parts of the world.

The movement’s partnership with both private and public philanthropy will continue to bring comfort to the needy, while the proclamation of God’s redemptive love offers individuals and communities the opportunity to enjoy a better life on earth and a place in Christ’s everlasting Kingdom.

The Salvation Army is currently led by General André Cox, who was elected as the 20th General on 3 August 2013.

 CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/about

WAYS TO GIVE

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/

  Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and invite a friend!

Marcia Norwood

America's STORYTELLER

Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking