What does God say about your situation? It is time to stop allowing others perception of the situation define God’s perception of the situation.
Stop comparing your start with someone else’s finish. That’s a word worth holding onto. All of us want the opportunity to be made mature when our hearts feel alive. We don’t get electives on when (what season) we are maturing in the Lord.
What would happen if you believed in your heart of hearts that your life (actions & prayers) influenced our culture? Imagine if you lived within that understanding? Did you know that the disciples had been identified as “lights of the world” before contributing much of who they were?
Thanks to the generosity of our Awaken family, we were able to provide 174 backpacks filled with all of the supplies students would need for their school year. With all of the added stresses, financial and otherwise, that COVID has introduced this year, it was an honor to give a small amount of relief to those who needed it.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of our goals has been to find the best way to respond that would help our community, and give our church family an outlet to serve during a season that still seems so uncertain. The Live Awake team was created to plan and execute projects designed to tangibly display love and inspire hope to those in our area that need it most.
Here is the next installment of our series detailing the projects undertaken by the Live Awake team with support and involvement from our larger Awaken Church family.
Live Awake Project - Lunch for Teachers at Idaho Arts Charter
Anyone with school-aged children can attest to the fact that COVID has completely changed the educational landscape for schools and families alike. There is, of course, the additional stress on students and their parents, who are facing challenges that no one was prepared for. On the other end of virtual learning are teachers, who in one year have had to completely upend years of techniques and best practices to adapt to administration expectations and students’ needs.
If you’ve attended Awaken in-person, you’ve probably noticed that we’re situated next to a school, Idaho Arts Charter. Over the past few years, we’ve partnered with them in many ways. We sold them land to expand their parking lot, and until that parking lot was completed, parents used our own parking when dropping off children. For the last two years, we’ve also provided backpacks for IACS families who needed them. Our own lead pastor, Brooke Cooke, taught kindergarten there and still maintains a relationship with teachers and administrators. For those reasons, and more, the Live Awake team planned to surprise the teachers at Idaho Arts with lunch at the beginning of a harried 2020 school year.
Partnering again with Chick-fil-A of Nampa, who donated half of the meals, we were able to supply 50 meals to the teaching staff at IACS. The Live Awake Team along with volunteers picked up the meals at the restaurant and dropped them in the teaching lounge for a safe, contactless delivery.
Melanie Tucker, an Awaken staff member and parents of two IACS students shared about the experience:
As a parent of students who attend there I get to see on a daily basis the effort their teachers are putting into the material which has to be completely changed. When it’s done remotely you have to be so much more creative as a teacher to do each and every lesson.
Also, these teachers are being judged, criticized and blamed by many parents during this. Parents are under so much pressure that the teachers are who get a lot of the push back. So it was important to me to show that we do SEE these teachers and appreciate what they are doing. We see their sacrifice.
I actually just paused the other day and wrote Shiloh’s teacher an email of appreciation before we started full remote learning again. Just to let her know that she is amazing and I see all of her effort and patience for my child.
The remote learning process hasn’t been smooth for the majority of those involved, and the struggle continues to find solutions for a unique set of challenges. But as light-bearers and as people charged with creating culture rather than bowing to it, honoring teachers and showing gratitude in difficult situations is a vital and world-changing practice. Whether it be working from home, online schooling, or encountering different regulations at stores or restaurants, what are some practical ways you can combat difficult situations with gratitude and honor?
Over the next few weeks, look out for information on other Live Awake projects that have been completed so far this year. And check out a video of this project here.
In order to serve Lifeline Pregnancy Care Center and the mothers that they work with during this COVID pandemic, we asked them for a list of items that they need most on a regular basis. We then distributed that list to members of Awaken Church, inviting them to purchase items from the list and then drop them off at the church the week of Mother’s Day. After all donations were made, we were able to bring two truckloads full of diapers, new clothes, diaper bags and other new baby items to the center, ready to be distributed to mothers in our community who need them.
(TPT) Philippians 4:12–13 I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of our goals has been to find the best way to respond that would help our community, and give our church family an outlet to serve during a season that still seems so uncertain. The Live Awake team was created to plan and execute projects designed to tangibly display love and inspire hope to those in our area that need it most.
So far, these projects have been largely behind the scene. But now we would like to share what we’ve been up to, not only to introduce some hope and positive news to today’s narrative, but also to encourage you to find your own ways to “live awake.”
Live Awake Project - Encouraging Healthcare Workers
Since the beginning of the pandemic, healthcare workers have been hit especially hard with new challenges, protocols and stresses, and their contribution to keeping us healthy and safe has never been more clear. For these reasons, and many more, the first project planned by the Live Awake team, completed at the end of April, was geared toward bringing hope and joy to the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff that have been working tirelessly to support our community. Using contributions from our church family, we were able to deliver 240 lunches to over 10 different locations including the ER floors at both St. Lukes and St. Alphonsus, COVID testing tents and COVID clinics. In addition to the meal, members of the Awaken Church community wrote notes of encouragement in addition to small gift cards to bless the healthcare workers, and serve as demonstrable appreciation for all that they are sacrificing in this season.
Our team was able to pick up, assemble and deliver the meals, and the project garnered support from local businesses. The local Dutch Bros franchise donated gift cards to include, and Chick-fil-A matched our efforts and donated half of the meals that we distributed. We’ve always known that Awaken Church is a generous house, full of people who love well. That generosity has become even more incredible over the past year. Awaken Church, you are sowing seeds of hope in a time where hopelessness and fear seem like the easier option. Thank you for partnering with us in creating culture.
Over the next few weeks, look out for information on other Live Awake projects that have been completed so far this year.
