2006

We have an angel bear tree at my kids’ school and with the $6 that my husband and I received Sun. I went and took a bear off the tree. This little boy on asked for a sweater and with the blessing from Mosaic, I was able to him 2 sweaters. Thank you for making it possible for us to help some one else in need.

I used the money I was given to pay for food for a homeless man that I met when walking though Five Points, a resturant district in Columbia. I also purchased a gift card at Starbucks and left it with the cashier to use on customers that followed me. Thanks for inspiring me to share and bless others.

First, I want to say thank you. This church has been such an inspiration to me. Every week I am engaged in the message, encouraged to live by faith, and challenged out of my comfort zone. This leads me to the way our family used the reverse offering. When I took my boys to get their hair cut, I overheard the staff talk about how they can’t go to church because they have to work on Sunday. Sharing my faith has always been very, very difficult for me, so I debated what to say. I ended up not saying anything and going home. I later felt led to go back to shop bearing gifts and Mosaic’s Christmas invitation. Nervous, but supported by my children, we went in and delivered our Christmas gifts. The staff was surprised by the gifts and “awed” by the children who helped deliver them. I invited them to Mosaic and got over my fear of extending a hand to a stranger.

Monday, December 11th, there was a fire in my apartment. When I got the call, I left work and arrived at the complex to find the building in flames. Fortunately, everyone in the building made it out safe and the firemen rescued all the pets! A Captain of the Charlotte Fire Department was nice enough to go into the apartment and pick up some things that I needed. He returned with a pillowcase full of items. Later that evening, I sat down to go through my pillowcase of items to see what had been saved. As I dumped the remainder of the items onto the table, I noticed a small white envelope. I picked it up and realized it was the tithe envelope from Sunday’s service with the four dollars still folded neatly inside. I had written on the back of the envelope two notes, “Be a good steward” and “Pay it Forward”. The envelope had been sitting on the dining room table, not near anything else that was put into the pillowcase. For some reason, the Captain had grabbed that small envelope along with everything else. I’m still carrying my “Be a good steward” envelope in my purse. I plan on giving the money along with other donations to the Red Cross, but I’ll be keeping that little white envelope with me for a long, long time.

Thank you for an amazing service this past Sunday. Your sermons are so captivating that even a teenager like myself can stay in tune. In response to the reverse tithe I would like to tell you that I have donated my money to a program called “Field of Dreams.” Field of Dreams is a project which was started at North Mecklenburg High School, by several of my friends. We are hosting a benefit to raise awarness and money in hopes of curing Cystic Fibrosis.

I just wanted to share with you how I have spent my $4 reverse tithe. This year I (and a few co-workers) put together 5 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. I was so touched by reading how God’s love is shown to these children through the gifts we have given that I have decided to make this a tradition each year. So, I have already started purchasing items for next year’s shoeboxes with the reverse tithe I received and hope to double, triple, or even quadruple the number of shoeboxes I give out next year. Thank you for reminding us that it is in giving that we truly receive.

A Mosaic business owner was inspired to give all his clients on Monday $5 and then ask them to take that money and bless someone else.

Several teens pooled together their money, bought tickets to the movie “The Nativity Story”, and gave them out to strangers.