Have you ever gone on a God Hunt? A God Hunt begins when you teach yourself to look for God’s hand at work in the every day occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
I discovered that St. Vincent de Paul’s Resale Shop frequently has a supply of day-old bread from the Whole Foods orTrader Joe’s groceries. Generally, I pop into the resale shop once a week when I am in downtown West Chicago. Since the bin of bagels, wheat breads, baguettes, etc. is free for the taking, I grab a couple sacks, take them home, repackage them in plastic, zip-lock bags and store them in the freezer.
Then whenever company comes for dinner, which is frequent at our home, I always have a loaf of bread (or breakfast bagels) to offer. I learned long ago that if slightly older bread was stuffed into a brown paper sack, which was then sprinkled with water, and baked at low temperatures, it would produce a delicious, warm, soft loaf. I rarely grab pre-sliced breads but prefer instead round, oblong loaves that look as though they have just been pulled from the baker’s oven.
Guests regularly comment, “Oh, that is wonderful bread. Where did you get it?” I don’t hide the fact that I serve day-old, free bread for the taking—if anything I’m kind of pleased with my frugality—but I generally answer, “It is tasty, isn’t it? It’s from Trader Joe’s (or Whole Foods).” Some people might wonder at my shopping—or lack of shopping—habits.
Any leftovers get transformed into bread crumbs, bread pudding, cubes and bagel chips. St. Vincent’s provides our family (and friends) with a plethora of bread products.
All this causes me to think of the phrase from Our Lord’s Prayer, Give us this day our daily bread… Every time I grab a plastic bag of five-grain wheat, good black rye, a dozen variety bagels, I am reminded of God’s gracious Providence. He gives us our daily bread, literally, and enough to serve family, friends, neighbors and guests.
I spy God!
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Award-winning author Karen Mains has long had an interest in spiritual formation and the obedient Christian walk. She has written about the God Hunt in her book by the same name, The God Hunt: The Delightful Chase and the Wonder of Being Found. A hardback copy can be ordered from Mainstay Ministries for $10.00 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. Contact Karen at info@mainstayministries.org and she will be happy to autograph a copy for you.
Karen continues to write content for her Christian blog, “Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains.” In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.
Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags. This microfinance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.
For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. The are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and congregations at theMainstay Ministries main website, please click here.
Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.
