Good News - November 2019

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.” Psalm 127:3 This Thanksgiving our whole family will be in Fort Lauderdale celebrating and giving thanks to the Lord, for He has blessed our daughter, Nicole, with a baby boy in her womb due in February! Her sister, Liz, is giving a “Thanksgiving shower” in their honor, thanking God for this “good gift” to our family. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” James 1:17 Gita Santangelo, Community Prayer Partner This year we are traveling to Pennsylvania to prepare the Thanksgiving meal with my wife’s elderly parents. We need to cherish every holiday as if it were our last. Gregg Wallick , Best Roofing Our Thanksgiving is a traditional Thanksgiving, spent with family, friends and our loved ones! We are grateful all year long, but take this special day to acknowledge all that God has done for us and look back on how He continues to be faithful to us! Dr. Mary Drabik, President, South Florida Bible College & Theological Seminary Years ago we lived in Poulsbo, Washington, a small rural town outside Seattle. Our house was on this woodsy little strip of asphalt called Sawdust Hill Road. Each Thanksgiving, all the neighbors on Sawdust Hill Road would gather, break bread to- gether, and celebrate God and His goodness. It was simple, it was sweet, it was special and the memory of it remains in my heart to this day! Oksana Horton, Artistic Director, Torch & Trumpet Theater Company, a sub- sidiary of Revelation Ministries My family and I plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with my in-laws, where we will fellowship and eat the most wonderful meal ever. My brother in law and I will watch football games and the family will enjoy each other and eat until our heart’s content. O’Neal Dozier, Pastor, The Worldwide Christian Center Many years ago, my husband and I did not have anywhere to go on Thanks- giving, we were newlyweds, and quite naive. We thought we could find a restaurant that was open that would serve Thanksgiving dinner. We drove to Niagara Falls and finally found a Howard Johnson's (for those that do not remember them, they were a motel that had their own restaurant). On the way there, we came across a home- less man that was out begging in the cold and purchased him dinner. We went from feeling sorry for ourselves to feeling grateful for all we had. Patricia Colangelo, EdS, Director of Operations – Florida, Trinity Interna- tional University One Thanksgiving my family and I volunteered with Calvary Chapel Ft. Laud- erdale to distribute Thanksgiving dinners to various families throughout our commu- nity.... one of the homes we had the privilege to serve was a household of 6 people who all had ‘special needs’. As we had the chance hear each one of their testimonies and their FAITH IN GOD & THEIR GRATITUDE....It was both humbling and inspiring. They did more for me than I could’ve ever done for them!!!!! Coach Rick Andreassen , Founder/President, SAINTS of Florida P.E. and SAINTS International Sports Ministry When our boys were young we would do the traditional taking turns around the Thanksgiving table with everyone saying what they were thankful for. As they got older we all served at the Church’s Feast of Plenty for many years and later delivered Turkeys to families in need. Romney C. Rogers , Managing Partner, Rogers Morris & Ziegler Llp Raised in Detroit Michigan, our family and cousins would rise up at 4:00 am in the freezing cold on thanksgivingmorning, wrap ourselves with tons of warm clothing and trek downtown to watch the early morning parade that started around 9:00am This was followed up with a big thanksgiving meal with family and cousins, tackle football in the cold outside, and watching the Detroit football game in the warm cozy house. Ron Bramos , Senior Pastor, Victory Life Church I plan on eating, like all the other males in my house in 12 minutes. Half-time takes 12 minutes. There may be some sort of a correlation of which I am unaware. Samuel Lamerson, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies, Knox Theological Seminary One of my favorite thanksgiving pastimes, is playing flag football thanksgiving morning with my friends. We are all sore the next day but we love it. Scott Baugh , Pastor, Journey Church It’s really not unique but we always make a point to go around the table and say what we are thankful for - so important to thank God for all the blessings and let oth- ers know what you are thankful for. Sue Trombino, Founder, Women Impacting the Nation Many years ago, we did something different with the houseful of kids we were fostering. After we enjoyed a great feast of every type of food you could imagine, we wanted to remind the kids that even though they were in a difficult place in their lives, they could still help others. So, we made a ton of turkey sandwiches and filled a cooler with water and soda and drove around the community living out Matthew 25:35 - "For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home." Thomas L. Lukasik , Vice President Community Engagement, 4KIDS of South Florida Wants to Know… Chris Lane Collins Forman Deborah Cusick Doug Sauder Fred Scarbrough George R. Moraitis Germain Smith Baugh Gita Santangelo Gregg Wallick Dr. Mary Drabik Oksana Horton O’Neal Dozier