• GLEANINGS (November 18, 2106):
• FORT WORTH, TX – A different $3300 McDonald’s order!
• MANDAN, USA – A fatherless generation
• CHARLOTTE, NC – Cliff Burrows passes away

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FORT WORTH, TX
Stranger walked into McDonald’s and spent $3,300 on a life-changing order

Faithit Stories That Matter reports a priceless happy meal incident…
After a mystery man in Fort Worth, Texas, was recently diagnosed with cancer, he realised that life is too short not to spread kindness.

Noticing another’s problems
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, visited his favourite McDonald’s location, where he is a regular. He noticed a girl who also frequents the restaurant, sitting alone crying. That’s when he approached her and asked about what was going on.

It turns out that she’d been going through a tough time – something the mystery man could relate to having just been diagnosed with cancer. They talked a while before he stood up and went straight to the counter.

He approached the register, as though he was planning to order food. But as he began speaking with the cashier, he didn’t order anything at all. Instead, he handed each of the employees a $100 bill. One employee is heard screaming as she realises what’s happening link: http://faithit.com/stranger-spent-3300-on-life-changing-order/. Their reaction was priceless! Each one smiling from ear-to-ear and squeezing him tight with a big hug.

Joy can be spread on life’s long road
His insanely generous act was caught on camera, and quickly went viral. The man blessed every single one of the 33 employees at that McDonald’s with a $100 bill that day – even those who weren’t working!

Later that week, he went and did something similar at a local waffle house, proving that an unexpected and simple act of kindness can transform someone’s day.

How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it. Commenting that the mystery man has a long uncertain journey ahead because of his cancer illness, the newscaster commented that ‘Even a long road can be one for spreading joy.’

Link: http://faithit.com/

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MANDAN, ND
Our fatherless kids

Becky Fisher shares concerns about the fatherless…
I’ve been thinking about all the rioting (long past peaceful demonstrations) with the young people in our cities because they are angry about Trump being elected president. (Of course, it is widely reported and common knowledge that Soros has hired professional, full-time protesters who are trained to incite this stuff. But our kids blindly go along while actually believing they are thinking for themselves!).

But looking past that for a moment, I’m reminded that this generation (primarily Millennials which are doing this) are known as a fatherless generation. They are out of control with no authority figure willing to bring them in line. Some stats say as many as 23% of our kids grew up in fatherless homes. This includes those who are rioting.

Solemn Stats on the Fatherless
Other statistics on fatherlessness include:

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) – 5 times the average.
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average.
• 85% of all children who show behaviour disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. (Center for Disease Control)
• 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes -14 times the average. (Justice & Behaviour, Vol 14, p. 403-26)
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. (National Principals Association Report)

The list is endless, and takes up too much room in this post, so read the rest of the material for yourself here: http://buff.ly/2g0j2aW

Other nations have their stats too
Many nations are affected by the reality of a fatherless generation. Recently Australia’s Daily Mail had an article titled, The Price we will pay for a Fatherless Generation (http://buff.ly/2fLOcRQ).

Among other points, it said, ‘Consistently, research has shown that boys who have never known their fathers are more likely to underachieve than those brought up in two-parent homes. The majority of youths in our young offender institutions and prisons have had little contact with their fathers.’

What’s more frightening is to hear Johns Hopkins report that 57 percent of children born to millennials are out of wedlock right now.

So the problem is only going to get worse. More frightening research on fatherlessness is here if you want to read it: http://buff.ly/2g0hU74

This generation needs the Father!
Young or not so young, boys or girls, more than ever before this generation needs Jesus. It is no accident the Bible tells us that God is a Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5)).

It’s the Jesus Factor – from true conversion experiences – that will make the difference. These are people looking for a cause. Looking for a reason to exist. Looking for purpose. But in all the wrong places.

So I guess the point I’m making is we need to pray for this generation, and somehow reach them with the gospel that they have been brainwashed to reject. Let’s steal one of their lines, and remember that ‘love trumps hate!’

Click here to listen to this incredible testimony of a Christian mother successfully raising four children (3 are boys) by herself. http://buff.ly/2fHeXVb

Your thoughts? Please comment and share. Many blessings and thanks for all you do for the children!

Becky Fischer founder of Kids in Ministry International is always eager to encourage children’s ministry leaders and workers. Links: kimibecky@yahoo.com / www.kidsinministry.org / Kids in Ministry International, PO Box 549, Mandan, ND 58554, USA ____________________________________________________________________________________

CHARLOTTE, NC
Cliff Barrows passes away at 93

Dan Wooding, Founder of the ASSIST, reports…
Long-time Billy Graham associate, Clifford (Cliff) Burton Barrows, of Marvin, North Carolina, died on Tuesday, November 15, at Carolinas Medical Center, in Pineville following a short illness.

For more than 60 years, Cliff Barrows was one of the most vital components – and most recognised faces and voices – of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s worldwide ministry. He was best known as the music and program director of the BGEA, who put together choirs and conducted the music and the congregational singing during Billy Graham’s numerous crusades around the world.

Born on April 6, 1923, in Ceres, CA Cliff Barrows graduated from Bob Jones University in 1944 with a BA in Sacred Music. Ordained by a Baptist Church in Ceres in 1944, he briefly served as an assistant pastor at Temple Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minn.

In 1945, Barrows married Billie Newell (deceased). It was on their honeymoon in western North Carolina that they first met a young evangelist named Billy Graham.

Music played a significant role in the programming of Billy Graham Crusades, for which Barrows was responsible dating back to the first Crusade in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1947. Cliff Barrows and soloist George Beverly Shea were the nucleus of the Crusade musical team.

Cliff Barrows remained active in his later years in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He hosted the weekly Hour of Decision radio program, heard around the world, for more than 60 years. Up until his passing, he hosted the Hour of Decision Online Internet radio program, which posts weekly on https://billygraham.org/. He also served on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Board of Directors since 1950.

Cliff Barrows was the ‘youngster’ of the Billy Graham team. Billy Graham recently celebrated on November 7, his 98th birthday, and George Beverly Shea was 104 when he died in 2013.

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Disclaimer: Articles, as well as the sources linked to, do not necessarily reflect the opinion of ConnectingwithYou! Our thanks mainly to Dan Wooding, ASSIST (www.assistnews.net) and other news sources for timely gleanings

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