Day 95: Tuning our Hearts

Over the last 95 days, we have tuned our hearts toward the spirit of giving each Monday. By using our "hunger lens", we have shed light on just a few of the many songs, hymns, and tunes that can inspire us to help our neighbors in need. Notes became nudging, phrases became pleas, and words became worship.

Can you match these hunger-related texts to their title?

(answers can be found beneath the title choices)

(1) COME! Open your heart!
Show your mercy to all those in fear!
We are called to be hope for the hopeless,
So hatred and blindness will be no more.

(2) Neighbors are wealthy and poor,
Varied in color and race,
Neighbors are nearby and far away.

(3) This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth's kingdoms:
Thy kingdom come, on earth thy will be done,
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him,
And hearts united learn to live as one.
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
Myself I give thee: let thy will be done.

(4) Cure your children’s warring madness,
Bend our pride to your control.
Shame our wanton selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Lest we miss your kingdom’s goal,
Lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.

(5) I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them, my hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide, Till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them, Whom shall I send?

(6) All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above,
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
For all his love.

(7) Recall the outcast woman with whom our Lord conversed,
Christ gave her living water to quench her deepest thirst.
Like her, our hearts are yearning, Christ offers us his word,
Then may our lips be burning to witness to our Lord.

(8) As birds in the morning sing their praise,
God's fatherly love we cherish,
For giving to us this day of grace,
For life that shall not perish.
The church God has kept two thousand years,
and hungering souls did nourish.

(9) Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others, Shared until all are fed.

(10) Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;

Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.

From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,

Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

(11) Praise God for love, Praise God for life
In age or youth, in husband's wife.
Lift up your hearts, let love be fed
Through death and life, in broken bread.

(12) With joyful lips we sing to You,
our praise and gratitude,
That You should count us worthy Lord,
to share this heavenly food.

(13) We come to the hungry feast, hungry that the hunger cease,
And knowing, though we eat our fill, the hunger will stay with us still
We come, we come to the hungry feast.

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(Click on the title to re-visit that day)

(a) O Day Full of Grace
(b) We Come to the Hungry Feast
(c) Christ, Be Our Light
(d) Here I Am, Lord
(e) Gift of Finest Wheat
(f) Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
(g) For All the Faithful Women
(h) When Love is Found
(i) God of Grace and God of Glory
(j) We are Called
(k) Jesu, Jesu
(l) We Plow the Fields and Scatter
(m) This is My Song

(Answers: 1J, 2K, 3M, 4I, 5D, 6L, 7G, 8A, 9C, 10F, 11H, 12E, 13B)

Day 95. Dollar 95. God of grace and glory, we are indeed called to help those in need. Love is found when we stand up for the cause Jesus himself believed in, helping those who hunger not only for their daily bread, but also for the feast that is to come. We give thanks for those faithful men and women who plow the fields so that others may eat, and for gifting us with the finest grains of wheat from the field. This is truly our song to you, God of grace. As Christ was our light, let us continue to shine that light for others, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Day 94: Visionary Faith

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 1:1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted. 



2:1 I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.

Sermon: Visionary Faith
Pastor Ruth Ann Loughry
October 3, 2010

"Many of us, and many people right outside our doors, are wondering what we’ll put in the offering plate and what we’ll put on our lunch plate.

An uneasy tightness grows in our chest. We wait - pacing and anxious. Our loved ones suffer with no easy answers. Whether it is a monthly crisis from paycheck to paycheck, or the tragedy that strikes in the middle of the night, our faith wavers. We begin to fear what we do not know. The future is dark. Why does this hurt so much? When will a job offer come? Our mothers used to say it would look better in the morning. Mornings come and go, and it doesn’t look much better. We, like Habakkuk, long for answers. We wait for God.

Waiting is an act of faith - Habakkuk waited for God. “I will stand at my watch post, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.” (2:1)" (Click here to view/listen to entire sermon.)

Day 94. Dollar 94. Hunger Relief Community, our fear God turns to delight. Our prayers God turns to praise. Our unknown future God delivers in visions as we simply walk. People of God - have visionary faith. Live by faith! Amen.

Day 93: The Hokey Pokey

You put your right hand in,

(and tear open the large bag of rice or beans)

You put your right hand out,
(and grab the measuring cup)

You put your right hand in,
(into the large bag of rice to scoop)

And you shake it all about.
(and pour the cup of rice into the baggie)

You do the Hokey Pokey
(label the baggie with a marker)

And you turn yourself around,
(toss the 1 lb bag into your growing pile)

That's what it's all about!
(repeat until hunger is eradicated!)

Day 93. Dollar 93. Put your right hand, right foot, left hand, left foot...and all of your heart and soul into our next Breakdown event this Sunday, October 3rd. God's work. Our hands.

Day 92: V is for Veggie

"V is for Veggie, that's good enough for me..."

World Vegetarian Day, traditionally held on October 1st of each year, was established as an annual celebration to promote the joy, compassion, and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism.

Metro CareRing has a complete list of pantry needs,

including non-meat, healthy vegetable needs.

Click here to view the list!

Some other Vegetarian resources:

We would be remiss in presenting our Food Facts Fridays if we left out the tidbit that October is indeed National Cookie Month! While perhaps not as nutritionally sound as the vegetables mentioned above, cookies are included as a snack item on the pantry needs, and can bring a welcome smile to a visiting child (or child at heart) at Metro CareRing!

Day 92. Dollar 92. "T is for thankful, for food that will sustain. W: we're grateful you've joined in this campaign. R to remember to thank God when we pray, Oh, thank you on this ninety-second day!"

Day 91: Your Rising Light

If you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
Isaiah 58:10

Day 91. Dollar 91. Hunger Relief Community, we express our sincerest thanks to each and every one of you for letting your light rise in the darkness by helping those in need!

Day 90: Catch of the Day

Day 90. Dollar 90.
A family of five will eat for three days with this food.

Day 89: Compromised Progress

As the UN looks at progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in New York this past week, it is clear that with just five years to go the hunger goal is the one most under threat. And yet addressing hunger is fundamental if the world is going to reach the other MDGs.

World Food Programme, naturally, is focused on MDG 1, the goal that aims to tackle poverty and hunger. The target as regards to hunger is to go from 20% of the world population hungry in 1990 to 10% by 2015.

According to the latest figures, we are now at 16%. There was fairly good progress up to the middle of the last decade but then the global food price crisis happened, followed by the financial crisis and then the global economic slowdown. These events have severely compromised progress. Read more here.

Day 89. Dollar 89. We pray, Lord, that progress continues toward reaching the goal of lowering the percentage of hungry people in our world.

O Day Full of Grace

As we enter the final days of our 10.10.10 countdown,

there will be two days of grace.

Days to count our blessings, and not the days themselves.



O Day Full of Grace
Arranged: F. Melius Christiansen
Sung by the UW Eau Claire Concert Choir

O day full of grace, which we behold,
to us from the sea ascending;
you over the earth thy reign unfold,
good cheer to all mortals lending,
that children of light in every clime
may prove that the night is ending!

How blest was the gracious midnight hour,
when God in our flesh was given;
Then brightened the dawn with light and power
That spread o'er the darkened heaven;
The rose o'er the world that Sun divine,
Which gloom from our hearts has driven.

As birds in the morning sing their praise,
God's fatherly love we cherish,
For giving to us this day of grace,
For life that shall not perish.
The church God has kept two thousand years,
and hungering souls did nourish.

Yea, were every tree endowed with speech,
And were every leaflet singing,
They never with praise God's worth could reach,
Though earth with their praise were ringing.
Who fully could praise the Light of life
who light to our souls is bringing?

With joy we approach our Father’s land,

where day is forever dwelling,

where ready for us His mansions stand,

where heaven with praise is swelling;

and there we shall walk in endless light,

with blest ones His praise forth telling.

God of Grace, grant us comfort in knowing you walk beside us each day. We thank you for our daily nourishment, both by bread and in spirit. Keep watch over those who yearn to be comforted by you. We ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen.

Metro CareRing Breakdown: October 3

Day 88: Remember the Poor

Psalms of the Day

He upholds the cause of the oppressed

and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free.
Psalm 146:7

I will say of the LORD,
"He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
Psalm 91:2

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
Psalm 91:15

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Today's Gospel Text was Luke 16: 19 - 31. Click here to view.
Our guest preacher today was Bishop Allan Bjornberg.
To hear Bishop Bjornberg's sermon, please click here.
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Day 88. Dollar 88. O God, rich in mercy, you look with great compassion on this troubled world. Feed us with your grace, and grant us the treasure that comes only from you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Day 87: Dinner Makes a Difference

Monday, September 27, 2010
Dinner Makes a Difference

Family Day's Mission: A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children is a national movement to inform parents that the parental engagement fostered during frequent family dinners is an effective tool to help keep America’s kids substance free. Family Day reminds parents that Dinner Makes A Difference!

Become a Family Day STAR!
S - Spend time with your kids by having dinner together 

T - Talk to them about their friends, interests, the dangers of drugs/alcohol 

A- Answer their questions and listen to what they say 

R- Recognize that you have the power to help keep your kids substance-free!

Find more resources about this day HERE!

Day 87. Dollar 87. Your donations, whether they are money or food items, allows the families that visit Metro CareRing to eat with one another. You are making a difference!

Day 86: Fruitful Passions

The passion fruit, native to South America has many amazing health benefits to all who eat this sweet and aromatic fruit. Passion fruit was a staple of Aztec society and once Spanish missionaries laid eyes on the blossoms of the passion fruit, they named it thus as they said that the blossoms resembled the crown of thorns on Christ's head during the crucifixion. (Source: Associated Content)

Passion fruit has a very aromatic smell and can either be yellow or purple on the outside. The skin of the passion fruit is wrinkly and its pulp is a yellow, jelly-like substance with black seeds.

Some of the many health benefits of passion fruit

• its seeds (one cup) contains almost 25 grams of fiber.
• contains high doses of Vitamin A and C
• the antioxidants found in passion fruit is believed to block histamine, reduce allergy and inflammation, reducing the symptoms of asthma

Day 86. Dollar 86. Almighty and eternal God, who appointed his only-begotten Son the Savior of the world, who wore the blood-stained crown of thorns for our salvation, grant us the passion to recognize and respect the amazing gift of our grace, and shape our lives that they may be fruitful unto thee. Amen.

Day 85: Success

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge him,
And he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and shun evil.

Proverbs 3:5-7

Day 85. Dollar 85. Heavenly Father, we know that any success we might achieve comes directly from you - your wisdom guides us toward the right paths, your loving example inspires us to change social conditions. Fill us with the hope that even our small steps toward aiding hunger relief will leave your world a better place. Amen.

Day 84: Distress

Day 84. Dollar 84. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. Psalm 107:5-6

Day 83: St. Matthew

September 21 is a day we remember Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. A tax collector from Capernaum, Matthew was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus.

Since opening in 1988, St. Matthew's House of Naples, Florida has served over 2 million meals. Their mission: to change lives in a spiritual environment that is both compassionate and disciplined, as well as providing housing for the homeless and food for the needy. Read more here!

Day 83. Dollar 83. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6