This morning as I withstood the blustery weather serving coffee and breakfast outside of the THS Methadone Clinic, I was aware that as cold and wet as it was, I could go back to the comforts of my warm, dry home. Not so for everyone. And yet it was heartwarming to encounter so many beautiful smiles and faces even with the deep suffering in their eyes.

​One man talked about the struggle of addiction and that while the Methadone was a welcome relief for some, it could become a life sentence of managing the fix. Another woman was grateful. She said on days like this with the miserable rain pouring down, she was glad she was no longer homeless. Just four months ago, she got into a tiny home at Licton Springs Village on Aurora. With a big smile on her face, she was thankful that she didn't have to endure the weather outside in the park but rather could go home.

Home. Something so many of us take for granted. 

This week as many of us gather in our homes around the table feasting and celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope we will remember those who are not as fortunate. And may God give us their heart for the poor.

We have a pretty cool invitation to begin to partner with Bethany Community Church North once a month to be the presence of Christ on Aurora. And I believe this is a remarkable opportunity for us to serve our neighborhood and to love our neighbors.

When you happen on someone who’s in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don’t look the other way pretending you don’t see him. Don’t keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. Don’t count the cost...Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors. - Deuteronomy 15:7-8,10-11

Today, I am grateful. For each and every one of you. Your generous hearts, your generous love, and the ways you pour your lives out for the sake of others! I am privileged to serve The Practicing Church.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


​by Jessica Ketola

I think it is challenging today to feel hopeful about the world we live in. We are bombarded with headlines everyday of bad news and sucked into divisive debates and ugly rants on social media. And there seems to be more problems, more tragedies, more unresolved issues of injustice than our hearts can take.
 
And yet, a friend of mine reminded me last night of the power of gratitude. And since it is Thanksgiving week, this comes in a timely manner. Gratefulness is vital. It has the power to rewire our brains, to create new neuropathways and new practices of positivity and appreciation in our lives. While cynicism and complaining produce an increase of negativity and despair, gratitude and thankfulness catalyze perpetuating cycles of positivity and gratefulness.
 
It seems we are on to something. For there are encouragements all throughout our sacred text to be thankful in the midst of every circumstance, even to cultivate gratitude (Colossians 3:15). And scientists, psychologists, life coaches and mindfulness gurus agree. Gratitude opens us up to receive the goodness of life. It awakens us to the reality that all of life is gift.
 
I love this quote by Desmond Tutu. "Our nature is goodness. Yes, we do much that is bad, but our essential nature is good. If it were not, then we would not be shocked and dismayed when we harm one another. When someone does something ghastly, it makes the news because it is the exception to the rule. We live surrounded by so much love, kindness, and trust that we forget it is remark-able." - Desmond Tutu, The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World.
 
I love this. What if we were awake to this reality that we are surrounded by so much love, kindness and trust.  We tend to focus on the exceptions to the rule but then they are the exceptions. This reality of love, that is the very essence of God is at the very center of the cosmos. Every proton, atom, and cell of creation is charged with the presence of God. Every breath, every sunset, every small act of kindness. Yes, we are flooded with the brokenness of humanity, reports of evil, greed, violence and power, and our scars bear witness to these realities.  And yet, when Jesus came, he announced a new reality. He called it forgiveness. And he declared a new reality of forgiveness, healing and grace that begin a revolution of love in which the world would never be the same.
 
Tutu goes on to say, "Forgiveness is the way we return what has been taken from us and restore the love and kindness and trust that has been lost. With each act of forgiveness, whether small or great, we move toward wholeness. Forgiveness is nothing less than how we bring peace to ourselves and our world."
 
Which brings me back to gratefulness. For forgiveness is unearned. It is sheer gift. Kindness invites me to repentance and humility. Mercy reminds me that I am beloved. Grace calls me into freedom and Love heals me. And I am grateful. Grateful for God's redemptive purposes in my own life and in so many who surround me. It is stunning. God's grace at work in our lives.
 
So this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving, may you be aware that you live in so much love, kindness and trust that it is truly remarkable. And especially as you hold the many injustices and divisions of our day with family and friends around the table, may you experience the freedom, peace and wholeness of forgiveness. And finally, may you be filled most of all with immense gratitude for the many wonders and gifts of your lives. 

by Jessica Ketola

This week, we have the most amazing privilege and opportunity to share our story. This is a story that God has been weaving together over the last 12 years as we have sought to be faithfully present to our neighbors and to serve those who are facing inequity and poverty in our community. This is the story of Turning Point, but this is the story of us. This is the story of a ragtag, unpretentious group of people who sought to follow Jesus in very practical and ordinary ways and who have in turn received gift upon gift in getting to know so many of our diverse and beautiful neighbors from all different backgrounds, life experiences, and cultures.

This is a story of a faith community seeking to care deeply about our place, to show up in ways that actually benefit our neighbors and to join in God’s dream that everyone would flourish in the community. This is also a story of neighbors, parents, high school and university students, retired teachers and professionals and local businesses coming together to invest in the lives of at-risk youth and their families. And so what started as a very small story has grown into a much larger story that includes so many beautiful people in our community.
 
I first fell in love with Turning Point ten years ago as I drove a vanload of these loud, crazy, wonderful youth from Ballinger Homes to a weekly basketball camp. Turning Point had just been birthed out of our faith community as we were seeking to love our neighbors. I knew nothing about basketball, but I learned to care very deeply about these wild and yet delightful girls whose families had bravely come here from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Eretria and the Ukraine. Today, I am a board member and a tutor, and I have had the privilege of seeing these same young women grow up, graduate university and give back to the community. And I am incredibly grateful that I continue to be a part of such a wonderful organization and invest in the lives of youth.
 
As I sit with students every week in our afterschool tutoring program offered three days a week, it is clear that we need each other. We need the diversity and strength of community so that everyone can thrive. I learn so much from the tutors, students and families. And I believe that when the community comes together, there is always enough. That when each member contributes, there is never lack. And when people help people, there is always an abundance of riches.
 
Turning Point has been nominated for a BECU People Helping People Award, and we are so excited. We know that education is vital in creating opportunities for our children and building strong communities. We know that early prevention works. We know that after school programs are a proven solution. And so we are passionate about investing in at-risk children in our local community, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive. And we believe in the power of community as neighbors come together to help each other.